The importance of encouraging diversity in leadership roles

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to Yvonne Coghill's article entitled ‘When will we see more diverse nursing leadership?’ (Coghill, 2019). Coghill should be applauded for her courage in commenting on the lack of diversity within an organisation that has a workforce in which around 20% are from an ethnic minority background, but this isn't reflected in the leadership of the organisation.

This situation is reminiscent of the time I started practising nursing in an organisation that had a small number of nurses from different ethnic backgrounds. The patient population, however, was the total opposite and extremely diverse. Through the years, the number of nurses from other backgrounds increased. Along with this increase came a more knowledgeable workforce that created an appreciation for other cultures and the strengths that they bring to the organisation.

The author makes an interesting observation that points to the fact that there may be some form of systematic discriminatory practice that is preventing nurses from ethnic backgrounds from obtaining positions of leadership. If the processes that are put in place fail to evolve with organisational changes, then the system needs adjusting.