Commentary
City of Hope’s New Thrust: ‘Infuse DEI Into Our DNA’
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Employees at the renowned cancer center City of Hope in southern California can earn a $1,000 bonus for referring job candidates who are black or Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders if they are hired, an internal hospital email discloses.
The extra money offered through the hospital’s Employee Referral Program is part of City of Hope’s push to ensure that “we infuse DEI into our DNA,” says the Jan. 27, 2023, email marked “Dear Colleagues” and signed by Joline Treanor, System Chief Human Resources Officer, and Angela L. Talton, System Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Officer.
Since the start of last year, City of Hope has broadened the definition of its “underrepresented groups” beyond “Hispanic/Latinx and Black/African American.”
“With this more inclusive definition, referrals of American Indians/Alaskan Natives and Native
Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders when hired will result in a higher payout to you,” Treanor and Talton write. “Successful referrals that fall within these categories who are hired into eligible positions will receive the approved employee referral bonus ranging from $500 to $5,000 PLUS an additional $1,000.”

City of Hope launched its Employee Referral Program in January 2022 “with additional incentives to help build our diverse workforce,” the two officers explain. And involving employees in the effort appears to be paying off.
“To date, your active participation in the program has generated an increase in diverse referrals of 63%. By sharing our open jobs with your network, you have made a difference that truly matters,” they write in the January 2023 email.
Broadening the group to include Native Americans, Alaskans, Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders means employees potentially can earn the extra $1,000 for helping to recruit a new employee of any race or ethnicity except Asian or white — even though census data for 2021 showed whites, Hispanics and Asians as the three most common ethnic groups among the 21,700 residents of Duarte, California, where the main medical center is located.
City of Hope also has locations in Orange County (Irvine), California, and the Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix areas.
“We are making this change in support of our Indigenous Peoples Alliance employee resource group (ERG) and to align our City of Hope definition to that of the National Institutes of Health,” the email concludes. “We believe, in addition to this being the right thing to do at City of Hope, it demonstrates the integral role our ERGs play in ensuring we infuse DEI into our DNA.”
The City of Hope location in the Los Angeles area is a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. Having pioneered research and treatments for cancer, the medical center has been ranked for more than a decade as one of America’s best cancer hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.
The slogan “Infusing DEI into our DNA” is a recurring theme at City of Hope. The phrase was central to its Diversity Week celebration from Oct. 2-6, 2023, according to emails sent to employees on Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, which were also shared with us. The week’s activities kicked off with two half-hour sessions on City of Hope’s “leadership commitment” to DEI efforts with CEO Robert Stone, Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer Debra Fields, and Talton, the chief DEI officer.
“Hear our leaders speak to the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI),” said the first email encouraging employees to register for events. The second email, outlining activities to wrap up the celebration, noted that daily videos throughout Diversity Week included some by “leaders across the system” on the topic of “DEI accountability.”
Healthcare organizations must base their hiring decisions on the qualifications of applicants, not on racial characteristics. In the same way that individuals shouldn’t be denied a job because of the way they look, they shouldn’t be given one based on their appearance. With more than 11,000 employees systemwide, City of Hope would do well to concentrate less on ideologically-driven DEI initiatives and more on its mission to provide “exquisite care, innovative research and vital education focused on eliminating cancer and diabetes.” Rather than offering employees extra money to recruit colleagues from minority ethnic groups, City of Hope’s leaders should be reminding them of the pledge on its website: “All of us are united by our desire to find cures and save lives.”