Calling All Leaders

Leslie McGill, President and CEO, MedicAlert Foundation Canada

I’ve been a CEO within the Canadian health care landscape for a little over a month now — and what a month it’s been. With the realities of COVID-19 welcoming me into this position of leadership, I found myself in an always-on climate that’s constantly challenging me to find ways for MedicAlert and its services to better support frontline workers at the centre of this global pandemic.

Then came Monday, May 25, 2020. The death of George Floyd. The killing of an innocent black life that became a beacon for a global call-to-action — a rallying cry that has echoed across the world. It provided me a stark opportunity to look at my choices as a white woman and as a white woman in a position of power.

Since George Floyd’s death, I have taken more action on issues of diversity, inclusion and equity than I have in my entire career. This reactive action makes me feel remorse and shame. I’m ashamed that it took the loss of his life to spur me into action. Ashamed because as a leader, I could have and should have done something more than sit on the sidelines. Ashamed because it took a collision of crises for me to do anything at all.

I’ve worked with people of colour — brilliant individuals whom I respect enormously and whose work in the field of scientific research is beyond my scope. Their work and service to health care saves lives. I can say — with the benefit of hindsight that has come from conversations with colleagues over the last few weeks — never once did I ask about the way racism impacted them in their careers. Never once did I ask how racism affected their lives outside of work when their lab coats were off, and their title or designation wasn’t visible on their badge. It never occurred to me throughout my career that respect is automatically afforded to me because I’m white — and that may not be their experience. I’m ashamed in my inaction of not asking.

For the past 30 years, I’ve been immersed in health care. I didn’t have the grades, the patience or the stomach to be a clinician, but I wanted to belong — I wanted to be a part of something that was greater than myself.

As it stands, I don’t want to belong to this system anymore. It’s my time to speak out and to act now.

We’re all familiar with the term sweatshop — those places somewhere else. Factories full of individuals of colour being paid substandard wages in the name of Western interests and profiteering. In health care we have sweatshops, too. They’re here in our cities. They’re in our prized health institutions. They’re called research labs — where most of the people working at the bench are people of colour — PhD candidates who come to Canada and work miracles at the forefront of change. Without question, experts in their fields who are paid far less than the value of their contributions. Experts that are casually swapped out for another batch of cheap labour when their work visas expire.

When I walked into the MedicAlert offices eight months ago, I witnessed something similar. People of colour — immigrants to Canada — with medical, dental and nursing degrees who were underemployed because our system has placed unnecessary barriers in their way keeping each person from practicing their vocation in our country. I said to myself this isn’t right — but I did nothing. I didn’t act. I didn’t ask. I didn’t dare challenge the status quo.

Instead, I chose to perpetuate the status quo and help maintain the us and them approach to our work. By not speaking out, by not acting out, I chose to support systemic racism.

I no longer choose to do that today.

As CEO of MedicAlert — as a human being — I have a duty to do things differently. I’m making choices to do better by making changes both inside and outside the organization for which I am accountable. It begins with our staff, structure and culture — removing barriers and creating pathways for career growth opportunities for our team members. When there isn’t a role within the organization — we will help to find new ones or redefine roles that facilitate growth. We’ll make these changes as a team — not top-down — but as a collective who will work to listen, learn and uncover new opportunities. We’ll be one voice with many perspectives at the table — using the principles of design thinking to carve out a better future for MedicAlert, our team and the people we serve.

For me, leadership is more than action and accountability within my direct sphere of influence. My job is to be insistent and persistent in asking others in these sanctioned positions of power to join me — not just today, but always.

Before COVID-19, health charity leaders very politely worked together. COVID-19 brought true collaboration for many charities across the health care sector. Yet, the need to dismantle systemic racism in our community will long outlive the need to battle COVID-19 collectively.

So, in turn I ask… will you join me fellow leaders in the Canadian health sector?