Now is the time for us in government to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion.
By: Mark Ghaly, CalHHS Secretary, and Dan Torres, CalHHS Chief Equity Officer
Our collective sense of isolation is profound and yet our desire for belonging has never been greater. This has been perpetuated by the toll of the pandemic, which has impacted many of our communities especially hard.
Social media and technology have made it easier for us to connect, yet our interactions with one another have become more superficial.
This is why, precisely now, in this moment, we need to embrace the idea of diversity, equity, and inclusion in government.
We are a country built on the idea that, out of many, we are one. Our differences, and our different abilities, make us stronger together.
As stewards of the public good, we have a responsibility to make our state and our communities more resilient and more just. At a time when trust in government is at an all-time low, we are focused on being more inclusive and authentic with those we serve.
To advance equity in our workforce, policies, and programs, we must embrace our history and create the space to learn from the injustice and discrimination that has occurred. This gives each of us an opportunity to learn from each other and understand the perspectives and opinions each of us brings to the table. It also allows us to reflect on the barriers to health and well-being that many communities have experienced, and work to remove those barriers.
Here at the California Health and Human Services Agency, we come to this work from different walks of life and with varying perspectives and opinions. Yet, our collective desire to make our state a better place, a healthier place, is what binds us together.
In government, unlike in the private sector, our people are our greatest asset. This is precisely why our diversity matters.
We find strength in the fact that our workforce is representative of people from various religions, ethnicities, and races. People of all ages and all abilities, and people with varying gender identities and sexual orientations. This makes our policy and program development stronger.
Could we create a more diverse workforce? Absolutely. We are striving to do so with work currently underway.
We have established the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Subcommittee, which consists of all departments across CalHHS. The group has been hard at work over the past year to not only build a culture of inclusion and belonging within our organization, but to also move on policies that look to disrupt the inequities within the programs and services we deliver and administer.
We are focused on delivering on the Governor’s vision of imbedding equity by implementing Executive Order N-16–22. The intent is not to focus on equity in isolation, but to rather anchor all our work in equity.
We are working on ways to measure our progress and creating an Equity Dashboard that looks to help us collectively better understand the disparities within our programs. We know this is just the beginning and we have more work ahead of us to build up the reliability of the data to better understand the health and living conditions experienced by the people we serve.
Now is not the time to shy away from focusing on lifting those who have historically been marginalized in our communities. These individuals and communities have faced structural barriers that set them up to not have the same opportunities others have.
We in government must now double down on this work to ensure we create an equal playing field so that we truly deliver on the Governor’s vision of a California for All.
