Geographic variation in minority participation in hospital management in the United States

Minority participation in hospital management is, by all estimates, lower than almost anyone is prepared to accept. However, to date, there has been no published study of hospital management diversity using comprehensive national data. In the present study, the authors used data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to estimate more directly and comprehensively how management diversity in private U.S. hospitals varies by geographic area. Although minorities constitute over 33% of the U.S. population, they constitute only 14% of all top-level managers and officials in private U.S. hospitals. There is enormous geographic variation in this average across cities and regions. The authors found that minority management participation is systematically related to market factors, including demographic and education variables. These systematic patterns explain about 90% of the Metropolitan Statistical Area differences in minority manager percentage. However, even after adjusting observed variations for these differences, the authors found important unexplained geographic variations in minority managerial employment in hospitals across U.S. cities.