Over the last year, many of us found ourselves with an unexpected gift of time. That time gave me a few more months with my college-bound daughter and also allowed me to finally realize a long-term goal: to create an online community for women working in clinical diagnostics.
Since November, Women in Diagnostics has grown to 400 members and is made of women looking to network, advance and mentor.
As incoming president of NAWBO Sacramento Valley, I have the distinct pleasure of volunteering alongside some of the Capital region’s most progressive businesswomen including Vikita Poindexter of Poindexter Consulting Group and Lori Kammerer of Kammerer & Company. I am pleased to include their perspectives and information on the current outlook for women business owners and women in the workplace.
Vikita Poindexter, founder of Poindexter Consulting Group:
“In Healthcare, there is major underrepresentation of cultural, gender, and ethnic diversity in the recruiting, hiring and training process. Training the leadership is challenging due to the lack of representation from a gender and ethnic perspective. To serve the needs of a diverse population, it is imperative that the healthcare industry take the necessary measures to improve cultural competence, as well as racial and ethnic diversity. We need our healthcare representation to be a reflection of the people we are serving.
California hospitals that are nonprofit hospitals serve more diverse patient populations than the more affluent and competitive markets. As we know, this creates recruiting challenges and pay discrepancies.
Efforts must be initiated early to attract qualified minorities and women to the field. Ongoing recruiting efforts must evolve not only to attract, but also to retain and promote highly motivated and skilled women and minorities.
Although individuals from racially or ethnically under-represented populations attain high level executive positions, most earn lower salaries and are overrepresented in management positions serving indigent populations.
It is expected that by 2050, 50% of the US population will consist of minorities and unfortunately, today’s model of healthcare has been noted to have persistent racial and ethnic discrepancies.”
Lori Kammerer, founder of Kammerer & Company:
“The Governor’s proposed budget plan dubbed as the California Comeback Plan has something in it for every woman-owned business and manufacturers of all sizes! California went from a $54.3 billion deficit to a $75.7 billion surplus in just 12 months due to a resurgent economy, a surge in state revenues and added federal recovery funds.
Below is a link to the Governor’s press release and a legislative report that includes legislation on all issues of interest to small and large businesses business issues, including a list of bills pertaining to the healthcare industry. AB 915 (Chiu) requires the state to achieve a goal of 25% business with women-owned business and businesses in unrepresented communities, and SB 777 (Bradford) requires a reporting of all insurance industry-related boards, task forces and commissions include women and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Several additional bills related to employment law and COVID will also be of interest.”