Atrium Health Earns Double Honor as Parity.Org Best Company for Women to Advance and Best Company for People of Color to Advance
CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 8, 2023 – Atrium Health has been named to two distinguished lists by Parity.Org for 2023 –
“Best Companies for Women to Advance®” and “Best Companies for People of Color to Advance™.” Atrium Health joins other national brands including Best Buy, Ralph Lauren and Nasdaq who also made both lists.
The ParityLIST™ program recognizes organizations that are creating the culture and conditions in which underrepresented groups can rise. Companies are rated on recruiting, promotion and compensation practices, as well as specific employee benefits and policies and representation at the leadership level.
The “Best Companies for Women to Advance” list is now in its fourth year and includes 44 organizations that are creating the culture and conditions in which women can rise in leadership roles. The assessment was based on the best practices outlined in Parity.Org's ParityMODEL™ for Women in Leadership.
"Women are significantly underrepresented at the highest levels of leadership in most organizations, and research confirms that it's due to bias and structural inequalities – not to an insufficient pipeline," said Parity.Org President Dina Schenk. "The companies named to this year's list for women are being intentional about creating equity in the workplace, which starts with acknowledging the disparate barriers women face at home and at work."
The 2023 Best Companies for Women to Advance honorees had a number of policies and practices in common, such as:
- Focusing on recruiting women into all job bands to maintain a balanced pipeline.
- Leveraging a formal pay equity plan to identify and correct pay gaps.
- Offering flexible working arrangements.
- Offering equal family leave to both men and women and encouraging men to take their full family leave.
Atrium Health is among 18 companies the organization recognized on its first-ever list of the “Best Companies for People of Color to Advance.” The assessment was based on the evidence-based best practices outlined in the Parity.Org ParityMODEL™ for People of Color.
“People of color comprise 37% of the entry-level workforce yet hold just 17% of C-suite positions – with women of color facing the most striking lack of representation at the top," said Schenk. "The companies named to our first list for people of color recognition are taking concrete actions to mitigate both individual bias and the structural inequalities that create steep barriers for employees of color."
The inaugural “Best Companies for People of Color to Advance” honorees had a number of policies and practices in common, such as:
- Implementing targeted strategies to recruit people of color into the organization and actively monitoring recruitment, promotion and attrition rates by race.
- Conducting regular pay audits to identify and correct racial pay gaps.
- Proactively informing and encouraging employees of color to pursue available opportunities.
- Prioritizing skills over formal educational credentials and years of experience, whenever possible.
- Establishing employee resource groups for employees of color and leveraging feedback from those groups to directly inform policies and benefits.
“We are incredibly proud to have been named to these two distinguished lists – both for the first time,” said Fernando Little, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Atrium Health. “The diversity in our workplaces is one of the greatest strengths of our organization. We strive to create and maintain an inclusive workplace and learning environment where all belong. This is critical to advancing our bold DEI goal aimed at achieving transformative equity in health care, leadership, workforce, learners and the community.”
Parity.Org is a leading impact organization working to increase representation of women and people of color in organizational leadership, where the gap is the widest.
Atrium Health was also recently included on the Forbes list of “Best Employers for Diversity 2023” list, as well as ranked No. 67, nationally, on Newsweek’s annual Top 100 “Most Loved Workplaces®" and named the number one company on Diversity MBA’s “Best Places to Work for Women and Diverse Managers” list last year.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, the fifth-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, which was created from the combination with Advocate Aurora Health. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing $2.46 billion last year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the fifth-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 150,000 team members across 67 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $5 billion in annual community benefits.
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*Best Companies for Women to Advance® and “Best Companies for People of Color to Advance™ are registered trademarks of Parity.Org. Most Loved Workplaces® is a registered trademark of Newsweek.