Health inequities aren’t just political talking points, they’re a matter of public health, with life or death consequences. Data from the Centers for Disease Control confirms health inequity exists on gender, racial, and regional lines. Parents belonging to underrepresented groups are at an acute disadvantage: for example, Black and Hispanic women are up to three times more likely than white women to suffer from life-threatening complications during childbirth.
Lack of access to quality care is core to the problem. By investing in holistic, inclusive benefits, employers can better support working parents and their families and help bridge health inequities. Here’s why:
1. Families are central to workplace diversity and inclusion
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) rank as top priorities for over two-thirds of HR teams this year. But while most DEIB strategies center on engagement, compensation, recruiting, and representation, another dimension is just as critical: health equity, especially among parents.
Why specifically parents? The majority of underrepresented employees in the workforce are raising families, making them a critical demographic to support. Working families account for 60% of Black employees, 56% of Latinx employees, and 57% of Asian employees. And less than half of those mothers and fathers say their companies are doing enough to support them right now.
"The number of parents who have had to leave their jobs because of family commitments and COVID is staggering and needs to be addressed,” said Joe Wilson, Senior Career Advisor at MintResume. Unemployment among Latina, Black, and Asian mothers has grown to nearly double the rate for white mothers.
"Really, the focus needs to be on making sure these parents can continue in their role with whatever they need,” he said. Return-to-work coaching, childcare support, and other family benefits can help keep turnover among new parents low — under normal postpartum circumstances or returning to work after COVID.
2. Care matching leads to more equitable outcomes
Giving employees access to family benefits like telemedicine, fertility coverage, and surrogacy is an important step toward improving health equity. But benefits inclusivity is about more than coverage breadth — provider empathy and service quality matter just as much.
Care matching refers to the accommodation of patient requests for a provider of the same demographic or background. Evidence suggests care matching can alleviate some of these disparities. One Stanford University study found that pairing Black patients and doctors resulted in more engaged conversations, improved prescription adherence, greater willingness to undergo preventative care.
It’s a dynamic that Dr. Kathleen Green, an OB-GYN at the University of Florida, has seen first-hand. “I get patients all the time that ask, is it okay to ask for a Black or Hispanic OB-GYN or doula?” Dr. Green said during a Maven webinar. “To me, health equity is about making sure each patient gets the care they need.”
International teams also benefit from matching, particularly when accommodations are made regarding different dialects, cultures, and religions. Maven’s care providers speak 30 different languages, including Spanish, French, Hindi, and Hebrew, and have clinical expertise in faith-based care. Learn more about our provider diversity here.
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