In recent years, many regulators in Canada and globally have implemented policies, commitments and strategies for supporting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (“EDI”) within their regulatory organizations and in the industries or professions which they regulate. Recently, the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (“PSA”), the UK’s oversight body for ten health and social care regulators, published a Good Practice Guide, which highlights certain good practices that have been implemented by regulators in operationalizing their EDI commitments. The PSA Guide also includes several case studies.
For context, one of the PSA’s Standards of Good Regulation includes an EDI Standard. The outcomes contemplated in the EDI Standard are the implementation of appropriate governance, structures and processes to embed EDI across the regulator’s regulatory activities; ensuring that students and registrants have appropriate EDI knowledge to provide appropriate care; ensuring that the regulator makes fair decisions across all regulatory functions; and encouraging the regulator to engage with others to advance EDI initiatives and reduce unfair outcomes.
Some good practices highlighted in the PSA’s Guide include:
- The implementation of active staff networks within the regulator which routinely host workshops, raise awareness and help integrate EDI into the organization;
- The introduction of an “EDI Toolkit” for registrants designed to raise awareness of best practices within the profession and to help support registrants in meeting EDI requirements when engaging with the public;
- The implementation of guidance and resources for regulated professionals on how to provide inclusive and effective care for patients from equity-deserving groups;
- Engagement with system partners and external organizations with expertise in EDI to examine the regulators’ EDI practices and provide feedback for improvement;
- Collection of data on students’ or trainees’ progression, experiences and outcomes; and
- Requirements imposed by regulators on the training bodies for their profession(s) to implement actions to address inequalities of opportunity or barriers for entry to the profession(s).
In one case study, the PSA Guide highlighted a regulator’s survey of their registrants aimed at understanding registrants’ attitudes and experiences related to EDI. One of the outcomes of the survey revealed “an underlying gap in registrants’ understanding of the importance of tailored care in achieving equitable health outcomes”. The survey also revealed that while there were some positive outcomes resulting from mandatory EDI training, training alone did not have significant impact on registrants’ attitudes towards EDI. The regulator is reflecting on how to sustain EDI in the profession over the longer term.
In Ontario, health regulators annually identify and report on their EDI progress to the Ontario Ministry of Health as part of the College Performance Measurement Framework (“CPMF”) requirement for regulators to promote fairness, inclusivity and non-discrimination within their organizations and professions. Like the regulators highlighted in the PSA Guide, some Ontario health colleges have similarly developed specific strategies for enhancing EDI within their colleges and professions. Some examples include:
- Commitments to formalizing mentorship and outreach within the profession to increase equitable access to opportunities within the profession;
- Implementation of workshops for self-assessment and proposed action plans to enhance EDI initiatives;
- Engagement with external facilitators and equity-deserving system partners to assist in operationalizing EDI commitments; and
- Implementation of specific practice standards for registrants focused on providing dignified care for patients or clients from equity-deserving groups.
Many regulators recognize that operationalizing more inclusive regulation requires an ongoing commitment, active listening and engagement with impacted communities, and tangible action.
Some Canadian regulators are also implementing processes and standards specific to non-discrimination, inclusion, and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. This includes proposed professional standards specific to working with or providing services to Indigenous Peoples, and the implementation of draft action plans for truth and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples within regulated industries.
These developments suggest that regulators are turning their minds to appropriate ways to operationalize their commitments to EDI and non-discrimination. This marks an important and necessary step toward the goal of more inclusive and fair regulation.
