Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Statement

adopted by the ANA-Illinois Board of Directors
June 30, 2021

ANA-Illinois commits to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion by ensuring all programs, policies, and procedures are made with a lens to advance those values within the association and there is diverse representation across the association. 

  • ANA-Illinois welcomes all registered nurses regardless of race, ethnicity, cultural identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, education, professional experience, job title, political view, spiritual and religious beliefs, citizenship, location, family/marital status, and socioeconomic status.
  • Our Board of Directors and Nominating Committee along with our entire association will commit to encouraging Black, Latinx, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, LGBTQ+, persons with disabilities, and non-white indigenous nurses to serve on the ANA-Illinois Board of Directors.
  • Decisions for consent to serve on committees and advisory boards ensure diverse representation across the state of Illinois and other factors that are available for review.
  • ANA-Illinois board meetings include standing agenda time to allow members and leaders from The Illinois Coalition of Nursing Organizations (ICNO) to share ideas, insights, and news. ANA-Illinois also collaborates with ICNO on critical nursing issues.
  • The Expert Panel steering committee and advisory group on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was created to empower the nursing community in all sectors to eliminate health disparities due to intentional and unintentional discrimination, marginalization, and racism. A designated page on the ANA-Illinois website was created and a webinar series to educate members on critical issues impacting health disparities have been created.
  • Ensure photos and event flyers promote diverse representation.
  • Use gender-neutral language in all documents and communication.
  • Inclusive contracting to ensure businesses owned by people of color and other marginalized groups are included in the procurement and contracting process.
  • Virtual forums allow members to share ideas, feedback, and experiences.
  • A membership engagement committee was developed to create various events and strategies to engage and retain all members.
  • Program planning will incorporate DEI values when developing topics and identifying speakers.
  • Elected leaders will continue to partner with national, state, and local organizations around diversity to provide outreach to and elevate the voices of communities of color and to work towards increasing the diversity of the RN workforce through recruitment targeted particularly at underrepresented groups.
  • ANA-Illinois Legislative Committee will review proposed legislation with a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens, and be proactive in supporting anti-racism and health equity policies.
  • The Board of Directors will direct that our entire association commit to becoming a culturally humble association by:
    • Interrupting microaggressions* as they occur in our association, whether they are intentional or unintentional, and use these as opportunities to educate, learn, grow, listen, and respond with respect.
    • Embracing respectful dialogue and courageous conversations about racism, privilege, white fragility*, and oppression.
    • Encouraging opportunities for ongoing training and learning in the areas of diversity, inclusion, cultural humility*, oppression, and equity.
    • Recognizing cultural humility* as a continuous journey of self-awareness and reflection.

Definitions

Culturally Competent Health Care is defined as the ability of providers and organizations to effectively deliver health care services that meet the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients.

A Culturally Competent health care system can help improve health outcomes and quality of care; and can contribute to the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.

Cultural Humility is a humble and respectful attitude toward individuals of other cultures that pushes one to challenge their own cultural biases, realize they cannot possibly know everything about other cultures, and approach learning about other cultures as a lifelong goal and process.

Cultural humility was established due to the limitations of cultural competence. Some professionals, like social workers, medical professionals, or educators, believed themselves to be culturally competent* after learning some generalizations of a particular culture. Cultural humility encourages active participation in order to learn about a patient’s or client’s personal, cultural experiences.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines cultural humility as “a lifelong process of self-reflection and self-critique whereby the individual not only learns about another’s culture, but one starts with an examination of her/his own beliefs and cultural identities.”   Cultural humility is the “ability to maintain an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented in relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most important to the [person].” Wikipedia

Microaggression a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority. Rather than an overt declaration of racism or sexism, a microaggression often takes the shape of an offhanded comment, an inadvertently painful joke, or a pointed insult.

Prejudice refers to a preconceived judgment, opinion, or attitude directed toward certain people based on their membership in a particular group. It is a set of attitudes, which supports, causes, or justifies discrimination. Prejudice is a tendency to over categorize.

White Fragility is defined as a defensive response by a White person when their whiteness is highlighted or mentioned, or their racial worldview is challenged, whether or not this response is conscious; discomfort and defensiveness on the part of a white person when confronted by information about racial inequality and injustice.

 

References

Cultural Competence in Health Care: Is it important for people with chronic conditions? Health Policy Institute. (2019, February 13). https://hpi.georgetown.edu/cultural/#.

Rouse L., Booker K., Stermer S.P. (2011) Prejudice. In: Goldstein S., Naglieri J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_2217

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Microaggression. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microaggression.

White Fragility Book Summary by Robin J. DiAngelo. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2020,

https://www.shortform.com/summary/white-fragility-summary-robin-j-diangelo

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, February 18). Cultural humility. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_humility.