Diversity
Our Commitment to Diversity
At Oxeon, our commitment to diversity is felt throughout our culture and approach to building relationships within our ecosystem. Diversity is a core objective of our work. We believe that fixing healthcare for everyone requires new ideas and fresh perspectives. Engaging leaders from diverse backgrounds who have firsthand patient experiences is critical to our work.
Cultivating diversity & inclusion among our team
Our people are our most important ambassadors and the next generation of healthcare leaders. We are committed to increasing the diversity represented on the Oxeon team, across a number of dimensions. When we operate from – and proactively seek out – a range of experiences, backgrounds and perspectives, we collectively do better work. To that end, we have:
Formed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team that partners with Oxeon’s Executive Leadership Team to define priorities, lead our efforts and hold the firm accountable to measurable results – from revamping our hiring, onboarding and training to improving our review and promotion processes to reduce bias;
Committed a generous annual philanthropic match to all employees to support and learn from causes important to them;
Provided opportunities for employees to volunteer and contribute to mission-aligned causes important to them.
These initiatives are a start. We will share more as we continue to advance our DEI efforts.
cultivating diversity among healthcare leaders
Diversity is part of our core businesses. We are deeply passionate about advancing Oxeon’s mission and diversifying the C-suites and boards across healthcare. We believe we have the opportunity and responsibility to identify promising leaders with diverse voices, firsthand patient experiences, and fresh perspectives to accelerate the change needed in our healthcare system.
To date, of the 9 companies Oxeon Venture Studio has launched over the last 7 years, 57% of our executive placements in these companies have been women and 35% are people of color.
We are expanding our candidate-sourcing pools to increase the number of diverse candidates presented on executive search slates and hired for transformational roles.
Our Break into the Boardroom initiative promotes greater representation of female healthcare executives on boards within the public, private and nonprofit sectors. See below for more information and how you can get involved.
Again, these initiatives are a start. We will continue to share our progress, barriers and lessons learned.
Break into the boardroom initiative
Women make 80% of healthcare decisions in America but are vastly underrepresented at the most senior positions of influence within healthcare company leadership teams, board governance and investment.
As of 2017, only 7% of venture capital CEOs were women and only 2% of venture capital funding went to female-led companies. We believe we are uniquely positioned to make an impact on that gender gap, particularly in the healthcare venture capital and private equity spaces.
That is why we launched our Break into the Boardroom (BiB) program, in partnership with Deerfield Management and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, to promote greater representation of female healthcare executives on boards within the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Since its inception in 2016, Break into the Boardroom has helped fill more than 70 board seats with talented women from its growing network.
In 2022, BiB hosted its inaugural “Rising Stars” session, aimed at helping female healthcare executives build a foundation for future board leadership. The event brought together 50 women who are outstanding in the healthcare sector and on a path to executive leadership. We are committed to continuing to evolve the future of BiB to place even more women on Boards.
Within the BiB network and beyond, Oxeon serves as a vital connector between women executives, capital and funders, helping to build leadership teams and take innovative ideas to the next level. Learn more here.