My identity as a gay woman isn’t all of who I am. It’s usually not the first way that I define myself, or even the most important piece of who I am—but it is a significant and important part of my life.
As a leader touching the healthcare industry for over 30 years, I’ve always felt passionately about not hiding who I am so that others feel empowered to be themselves, at work and beyond. This mindset has been increasingly important as I’ve taken on a leadership role at Aetna overseeing a team of nearly 15,000 people.
With the Human Rights Campaign recently declaring a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S., this Pride Month it’s critical to reflect on how leaders can help cultivate more inclusive environments for our employees and customers.
The value of openness in leadership
The best way to be a leader cultivating this type of environment is by first being comfortable with yourself. As someone who came out later in life, I wasn’t always at peace with my identity as a lesbian. I had to combat my own internalized homophobia and look past societal stereotypes to feel secure in who I am—and seeking mental health support helped me through this process.
It takes bravery and openness to share our true selves at work. I know what it feels like when your co-workers are talking about their weekends, and you’re scared to say that you went out with your girlfriend. So, you deny that part of you from being revealed. It’s these little denials of yourself, repeated over and over, that can make workplaces unsafe or limiting to who we are.
As I’ve progressed in my leadership journey, I learned that leaders can also set the tone for their entire organization when they embody the type of openness they want to see for themselves and others. When I first joined Aetna and CVS Health one year ago, I participated in an organizationwide Town Hall shortly after I started and I shared a photo of my wife and me at the top of the presentation. I wasn’t going to force myself back into silence or ignore an important part of my life just because someone might not support me.
Healthcare and the corporate world in general have changed since the start of my career. When I first began working, I didn’t really have any open LGBTQ+ leaders or mentors. Today, there are more dedicated corporate spaces for LGBTQ+ people and allies to come together, like the Colleague Resource Groups we have at CVS Health that help build community and advocate for a variety of groups, including LGBTQ+ colleagues. Even just seeing others like yourself can be a comfort in the workplace, which is why I am open about my identity at work.
To me, leadership all boils down to people: ensuring that every colleague and customer has the ability to safely be themselves. It can be hard—but by being open, it gives your team and your colleagues the encouragement to bring their whole selves to work, too.
The healthcare industry knows better than any other that our stressors and circumstances can impact our holistic health: whether its financial situations, family/relationship struggles or societal conditions like racism and discrimination. About 3 in 4 adults have experienced health effects due to stress in the past month. If you can’t even feel safe or accepted in your workplace, this can magnify all the other stressors and conditions that you may be dealing with. Cultivating an open workplace is one way to relieve stress for people of all identities, giving them what they need to succeed in their job.
Supporting patients and customers starts with understanding yourself
Considering how to best serve a diverse group of colleagues, patients and healthcare consumers is enabled by my deeper understanding and peace with my identity—because being comfortable with yourself also makes you more comfortable thinking beyond yourself.
Who we are can influence how we think—or most notably, what we miss. For example, you may unthinkingly assume that someone calling about a female reproductive diagnosis is a cisgender woman, or you may assume that a person who checks the box “single” does not have a long-term partner.
In healthcare in particular, conscious bias and implicit bias can affect how people navigate through the healthcare system. One study even shows that 20% of transgender people say they have avoided healthcare interactions due to fear of discrimination. It’s so important to have healthcare professionals who understand and are mindful of how your identity and background affect your healthcare experiences and opportunities. Cultural training can help overcome these biases, as well as being open about identities and perspectives in the workforce.
Not being able to receive affirming and validating care can contribute to poor mental health and well-being. Even I sometimes feel nervous disclosing my sexual orientation with providers, not knowing how it will affect their view of me or the quality of care they provide. Even though more people are out and open about their sexual identity at a younger age, there is still plenty of progress to be made—especially for the transgender community and those beyond the “LGB” identities. It starts with all of us – people who are first comfortable with themselves and willing to confront their own implicit biases. And then we must move to ensure that our processes and technology don’t replicate these biases.
There’s still more we can do to cultivate inclusive spaces where we can be ourselves and think beyond ourselves. Regardless of how you identify, leadership is about facilitating the comfort and openness of those you work with, which in the end will make you better able to serve your patients and customers.
Jen Truscott is the senior vice president of Aetna Clinical Solutions.