Diversity in the allied health professions

Abstract

This chapter is dedicated to an analysis of diversity within the allied health professions, including the intersectional relationships between gender, class, ethnicity, interprofessionality and cultural competence. The chapter explores the complex interplay of the intersectionality in the allied health professions. Gender and the patriarchal origins of the health professions have shaped professional repertoires, the roles individuals adopt within their professions and their interrelationships with other professional groups. The picture is far from complete and requires further investigation, but clearly the allied health professions need to understand the way their gendered histories can influence their current and future opportunities. The role of ethnicity, cultural competence and cultural safety is poorly understood within the allied health professions. All professions face challenges of how to best meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse populations who may also experience other inequities that impact on their health and wellbeing. The heterogeneity of the allied health professions mean that each discipline will face unique challenges in best meeting the needs of their specific populations and in a variety of contexts.