Diversity at Kaiser Permanente: the sad truth.

2007 10 22Kaiser Permanente, governance

Kaiser Permanente Diversity: The Sad Truth

In his latest weekly update, George Halvorson insists Kaiser Permanente has no “glass ceiling.” Mr. Halvorson’s spin couldn’t be further from the truth, sadly. WellPoint and Blue Shield of California both have many more women among their senior executive ranks than Kaiser Permanente. How disappointing that, instead of using his energy to close this gap, George Halvorson is “celebrating” it.

Mr. Halvorson focussed on the fact that two of his top “operations” executives reflect the diversity of Kaiser Permanente. One is a woman. One is an African American man. Sadly, when you zoom out and look at the top twenty-two executives at Kaiser Permanente, the picture isn’t nearly as diverse: that one African American man is the only black officer of Kaiser Permanente. That one woman is joined by only four others, with women making up barely 22% of the top executives at KP, compared to 40% at WellPoint (Blue Cross of California) and 36% at Blue Shield of California.

One more time, that’s an absolutely embarrassing 22% for Kaiser Permanente, versus 40% at WellPoint and 36% at Blue Shield. This is something George Halvorson thinks is worthy of celebration?

Looking elsewhere in the broader insurance industry, Aflac has three talented, successful African American women among its top executive ranks. Kaiser Permanente? Not one.

Kaiser Permanente has a single Latino executive among its senior ranks (and there are even serious ethical concerns surrounding his alleged involvement in political corruption). For an organization with tens of thousands of talented Latino and Latina caregivers, physicians, and managers, how can that be? (See this comment from 2006 for more disappointing information on Latino and Latina diversity at Kaiser Permanente.)

Only one member of senior management at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan is Asian Pacific American.

Sadly, to understand just how seriously George Halvorson considers diversity at Kaiser Permanente, you need only count the number of typographical errors in his latest update. If diversity was truly an issue he took seriously, perhaps he could bother sending out professional, truthful messages.

This isn’t a record to be “celebrating” and spinning. This is a record to be ashamed of. It’s inexcusable, and it’s just one more example of how out of touch George Halvorson is with the employees of Kaiser Permanente.

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7 Responses to “Diversity at Kaiser Permanente: the sad truth.”

  1. Bob07/10/22 12:33

    How sad that our compliance officer is totally corrupt. Did you really expect any less from him, though, after what you went through?

  2. Jonathan07/10/22 15:45

    Unbelievable! Who will believe anything he writes in his e-mails?

  3. Janice07/10/25 13:22

    Ha! Those of us who have attended KP’s annual diversity conference know that every year Halvorson professes to be writing/have written a book on diversity!! What does an old white guy from Minnesota know about diversity (since it clearly doesn’t exist in the senior ranks at KP either!) Wonder if Halvorson is using KP resources to hock this book like he does with all the others. Not for profit health plan that spends its money on patient services? Don’t count on it.

  4. Kyrie07/11/04 20:45

    There is very strong, inside information that confirms the “glass ceiling” is alive and well at Kaiser Permanente, regardless of the KP spin being circulated by KP and its allies within KP and outside of KP.

    Do not let the very old fashioned tactic of having “1 token African-American male” in a leadership role convince you that KP is diverse at all management levels, including the leadership level.

    I have the highest respect for the 1 African-American male that is at the leadership level, considering he probably went through pure hell just to get there at KP, but it does not mean KP is diverse or applies the same standards equally to promote to its people to leadership roles.

    The reason why more KP employees do not complain about the obvious difference in how promotional standards are being selectively applied is due to KP leaderships retaliation and public humiliation within the company when an employee speaks out regarding KP’s discrimination practices and failure to promote, specifically African-American males. Instead of just losing a promotion, the employee gets demoted or conveniently restructured (re-org’d) out of a job.

    What about KP Human Resources, you say? Don’t you dare report anything to KP HR if you value your job. KP HR does not support the employee. KP HR is 100% working and supporting the corporation (KP leadership) and will take your information and have “offline” discussions with KP leadership to show them how to better protect themseleves.

    Its just you, by yourself, against the big, bad, and powerful corporation, Kaiser Permanente.

    If an African-American male does twice as much work, have twice as many successes, AND there are no other “white, asian, or hispanic males/females” available, AND KP can’t find anyone from the outside, “maybe” the African-American male will get promoted to a leadership position.

    …good luck

  5. Dominique09/06/09 14:51

    When he says “diversity” in general, he means the overall company. I am a young black male and I look up to Mr. Halvorson a lot, although it is quit a shame how undiverse (if you will) our national leadership team is. However, our clinics and administrative offices are very diverse (and I am apart of the Colorado region!). I am sure Mr. Halvorson does not mean to step on any toes on purpose, even though I know that Bernard is the only black male on our national leadership team, we must not forget about the regional president for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio, Patricia Kennedy-Scott and associate medical director for external relations for the Colorado Permanente Medical Group, Jandel Allen-Davis, MD. I know its still not [incredibly] diverse, but KP does promote black executives. But let’s not let Bernard steal all the limelight, even though I love him, too! Just something to look into…

  6. Sarah09/06/21 22:24

    Kaiser also practices racism against African American women and women in their 40s and up. If your an African woman over 40 you might as well forget it at Kaiser.

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