“Nursing…has a responsibility to society to prepare a health care workforce that is truly going to serve and be able to be truly take care of everyone in our growing diverse society. That is embedded in our ethical code.” – Sheldon Fields, PhD, RN, FAAN (March 30, 2021).

Over the first few months of 2021, the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, AARP’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and AARP’s Global Thought Leadership, held a series of webinars on health equity, bringing together businesses, government officials, policy leaders, social justice and consumer organizations, health care providers and nurses. A major goal: to engage and involve a diverse range of stakeholders in supporting a more diverse nursing workforce as a means to advance health equity.

The Health Equity Action Forum series has concluded, but you can watch each of the three sessions below.

Forum One

The first Health Equity Action Forum, Diversifying the Nursing Workforce to Achieve Health Equity, was held in January. The forum sought to:

• Engage and activate a diverse range of stakeholders to support a more diverse nursing workforce as a means of advancing health equity and
• Support the nursing profession’s efforts in building a diverse health equity-minded workforce.

Forum 2

The second Health Equity Action Forum, Nursing as a Career to Achieve Financial Security, was held in February. This event sought to:

• Demonstrate nursing as a career for financial security and as an effective career ladder for historically marginalized populations.
• Support the nursing profession’s efforts in building a diverse health equity-minded workforce and leadership.

Forum 3

The third and final Health Equity Action Forum, Nursing Supporting Individuals, Families and Communities, was held in late March. During the event participants:

• Examined how structural racism and social injustice impacts the wellbeing of communities;
• Explored COVID-19’s impact on underserved communities and the nursing workforce; and
• Learned about the contributions of some of nursing’s hidden figures, who shaped the nursing workforce and the way in which nurses provide care.