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Support Black Health and Wellness in Your Workplace
In order to strengthen the workplace and address diversity and inclusion goals, employers must address critical areas that support Black health and wellness in the workplace. Part of the Black History Month 2022 Series.
Last week, I addressed ways you can become a better workplace ally to your Black colleagues. As a manager, employer, or senior decision-maker, you can also adopt ways that support Black health and wellness in the workplace. With healthcare benefits largely covered by employee benefit programs, employers should pay attention to how their benefits programs address issues faced by the Black community.
According to Jamila Evans with the Century Foundation, “Even with improved access to medical care under the ACA (Affordable Care Act), the disparities in health outcomes between African Americans and whites are stark. African-American women are three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white women. The African-American infant mortality rate is twice the rate for white infants. African Americans are more likely to die from cancer and heart disease than whites and are at greater risk for the onset of diabetes. However, death rates for African Americans with cancer and heart disease did drop over a fifteen-year period. Across many chronic illnesses, however, African Americans are still more likely to…
