NEW YORK—The embrace of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) this year has continued to expand among many businesses, large and small, public and private. In healthcare, too, and vision care in particular, DE&I has continued its evolution.

As McKinsey describes it, diversity, equity and inclusion are three closely linked values held by many organizations that are working to be supportive of different groups of individuals, including people of different races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, genders, and sexual orientations.

2023 has been a dramatic year, one of accomplishment, for DE&I awareness, widening new ways that diverse populations and people of color are represented (or introduced) to the potentials of the vision care profession as well as ways for retailers, professional offices and related product companies to address patients in new ways.

Of course, many challenges in the complex arena of DE&I persist, combined with an even more complex business environment as we end the year and look ahead at 2024.

Vision Monday reached out to just a few leaders within this space who are working across the U.S. eyecare business to tackle DE&I issues in various ways. This is by no means a comprehensive review of all the initiatives and programs that are gaining ground, but a way to put things in perspective toward an even more productive New Year for DE&I efforts in eyecare and eyewear.

VM asked these leaders to reflect on some of their “wins” in 2023, to identify some of the pain points on the DE&I journey and, finally to share a peek ahead at some of their plans for 2024.