Increasing board diversity: an imperative for success in the next era

As health care organizations undertake transformational change, governance will evolve along with organizational leadership. Increasing diversity on Boards of Directors should be a goal for all health care systems to understand and address. This will include a consideration of previously underrepresented professionals such as nurses. It will also involve the recruitment of culturally and racially diverse trustees, as a reflection of the organization's community. As a strategic plan for adding diversity to a board, individuals with varied experience, background, culture, age, race, and gender should be pursued. Boards that attain a new blend of trustees will increase their potential for innovative and effective governance, but this will require looking for candidates in new places. This article discusses why this is an important issue for the future, as well as where prospective diverse candidates may be discovered.