Our Vision: A Diverse Village Where Everyone Belongs
At DaVita, we affectionately refer to our organization as “the Village.” This language provides a constant reminder that when we come together in the spirit of life and health, we do so as a community first, a company second. It’s just one of the many ways we recognize the power of words to shape our culture.
When it comes to describing the critical work of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), we again choose our words, Diversity & Belonging, with tremendous care. This title reflects our commitment to actively nurturing an environment where every teammate, physician, care partner and patient is equally seen, valued and empowered to thrive — and a world where everyone enjoys equal access to health care.
Four principles guide our Diversity & Belonging strategy:
Belonging
We work proactively to cultivate a sense of belonging for all teammates, patients, physicians and care partners regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or any other factor.
Representation
We strive to have strong representation of women and people of color in our Village by meeting or exceeding EEO-1 benchmarks for all levels.*
Economic Mobility
We create opportunities for teammates at every level to increase their earning potential through career pathways, professional development and educational support. We support economic mobility more broadly by actively investing in the communities we serve.
Health Equity
We are committed to reducing and eliminating disparities at every step of the kidney care journey so that all our patients, regardless of race, socio-economics or other factors, are empowered to achieve their best health outcomes.
*EEO-1 is the average representation of people by gender and race/ethnicity for all US industries. Learn more.
Three core Belonging Behaviors set the standard for how we work together in the Village:
Creating Trust and Safety
Respecting and Valuing Others
Providing Fair and Consistent Support
DaVita Week of Belonging
Our annual Week of Belonging invites 65,000 teammates from across the globe to celebrate Diversity & Belonging in their own way.
81%
of teammates reported “I feel like I belong” in 2022.
78%
of teammates reported “My manager creates a sense of belonging” in 2022.
“One of my favorite activities during the Week of Belonging was asking teammates what makes them unique. I found so much value in these conversations. I also shared how I personally have felt like I didn't belong in previous work environments early in my career, and how that shaped my principles as a leader. At DaVita, I feel like my experiences, personality and background add value to my team. I’m committed to helping make sure every DaVita teammate I engage with feels the same.”
– Alvin Wiggins, Group Facility Administrator
Prioritizing Representation in Recruiting & Leadership Development
By focusing on diversity-minded recruiting and intentional development programming, we ensure that pathways to leadership within the Village are visible and equitable for all.
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Across our entire suite of recruiting activities, we work to engage the full breadth of high-potential candidates, intentionally seeking out people of every gender, race and ethnicity and those with unique backgrounds.
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Our leadership development activities are many and varied, encompassing coaching, mentoring and cohort-based learning programs. Yet they all share the same strategic goal: to create an environment where high-potential individuals from every background can pursue ambitious professional growth.
“I started really feeling the DaVita community before I even got here, because the recruiting team was so supportive, and so clearly invested in my development. What I didn’t expect was that once I completed my internship, that support just kept on coming. Even today, when I’m in a position to be mentoring others, I still have my own network of advisors who check in with me and connect me to opportunities. The accessibility of our executives, and their willingness to pour into me to support my growth, says a lot about the intentionality that DaVita brings to leadership development.”
– Ciera Crawford, Divisional Vice President
Our Village Population: 2022 Snapshot
Data as of Dec. 31, 2022
We continue to deepen our commitment to representation, recognizing that diversity encompasses many dimensions beyond gender, race and ethnicity.
We invite teammates who choose to do so to report their veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or other information about their identity. Opening these lines of communication reflects our vision for a Village where every teammate feels acknowledged, recognized and heard.
Overall Village Diversity
78%
women
56%
people of color
Leaders with Profit & Loss Responsibility
53%
women
30%
people of color
Operational Managers who Lead our Dialysis Centers
77%
women
38%
people of color
Board of Directors Composition
30%
women
20%
people of color
Veteran Representation
2%
LGBTQ+ Representation
7%*
*Of those who chose to respond, 7% self-identified as LGBTQ+.
“As a Village, we aspire to attract the best and the brightest. Personally, to me, this means a diverse teammate population that reflects varied backgrounds and disciplines and is representative of our patient population. We serve patients in metropolitan markets and rural parts of the country, and everything in between. It is important to me that the diversity of our patients and their communities are represented within our own teammate population, especially amongst our leadership.”
– Kenny Gardner, Chief People Officer
Fostering Economic Mobility
In 2022, we implemented our Clinical Ladders career-mapping model for 36,000 teammates, more than 60% of our teammate population. This approach puts front-line teammates in the driver’s seat of their careers with a framework that provides clarity on what it takes to progress in role. Clinical Ladders also links career progression to compensation in a way that is consistent with our pay-for-performance philosophy.
We’re on track to deliver this same level of role clarity, structured career progression and associated compensation growth for all teammates in 2023.
9,000+
teammates were promoted internally in 2022 as a result of Clinical Ladders.
56%
of our manager-level Facility Administrators were promoted internally as of 2022.
Of those, 76% are Women and 36% are People of Color.
“DaVita takes the time to prepare you for how to be successful, and gives you a never-ending supply of resources for how to get there.”
– Walter Mateo, Clinical Coordinator
Paving Paths for Tomorrow's Nurses
Providing supported pathways to family-sustaining careers in nursing is a key focus of our economic mobility commitment.
725
nurses have earned their degree with financial support from DaVita as of 2022
1,400+
Over 1,400 teammates are pursuing or have received their nursing degree, funded by DaVita, as part of our Bridge to Your Dreams program.
Of those, 87% are Women and 64% are People of color
Of those, 87% are Women, 59% are People of Color
“I have always enjoyed my work as a PCT but also felt I could do more. My managers, teammates and patients encouraged me to pursue my nursing degree, but I was hesitant, especially about the financial burden. Then I heard about Bridge to Your Dreams.I thought about what this opportunity could do for me and my family but also for our patients. I truly love working in dialysis and the BTYD program proved I'm right where I need to be. Without it, I would not be in nursing school. I am so proud to have been selected and to be a part of such a wonderful Village that invests in its people. Thank you, DaVita.”
– Crystal Davis, Patient Care Technician, Bridge to Your Dreams Participant
Centering Health Equity In All We Do
The principles of diversity, belonging and health equity are deeply interconnected. They are imperative to fostering a teammate community that reflects the diversity of the patients we serve, and enabling a Village culture where we lead with equity in all we do.
Chronic kidney disease disproportionately affects many communities of color, including our Black and Hispanic or Latino patient populations. Sector-wide data demonstrates that too often these disparities continue as patients advance through end-stage kidney disease.
We are proud that our patients largely achieve similar outcomes across race in core clinical metrics such as hospitalizations, readmissions and infection rates in our U.S. outpatient dialysis centers. With our health equity commitment, we continue to work to reduce other disparities.
2022 Highlights:
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Launched cultural humility training to patient educators and teams to enable more culturally sensitive and personalized care.
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Heard directly from dialysis patients and caregivers across the country through focus groups led by DaVita Clinical Research. This research, which centered on Black and Mexican American patients (whom we know comprise the majority of our Hispanic or Latino patient population), helped us better understand patients’ experiences and barriers on the journey to modality choice and transplant.
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Acquired MedSleuth, a software company that helps improve the transplant experience, including removing barriers to access and supporting patients through the transplant experience.
For more information on our 2021 corporate citizenship initiatives, please visit our ESG Reporting Hub or download our full Community Care ESG Report. Unless otherwise indicated, the data included in this report is as of December 31, 2021 for the Company’s consolidated operations.