Addressing the Minority Tax by Building Diversity Capital: A Case-Based Discussion

John P Sánchez; Deion Ellis; Veronica Plaza; Andrea Vélez; Jose Rodriguez; Laura Duque Lasio; Fabiola Quintero-Rivera

doi:10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11536

Addressing the Minority Tax by Building Diversity Capital: A Case-Based Discussion

MedEdPORTAL. 2025 Jun 20:21:11536. doi: 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11536. eCollection 2025.

Authors

John P Sánchez¹, Deion Ellis², Veronica Plaza³, Andrea Vélez⁴, Jose Rodriguez⁵, Laura Duque Lasio⁶, Fabiola Quintero-Rivera⁷

Affiliations

¹ Dean, School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, School of Medicine; President, Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians, Inc. (BNGAP Inc.).
² Resident Physician, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado School of Medicine Anschutz Medical Campus.
³ Assistant Professor, Family and Community Medicine, and Director, Language Equity, Office Diversity Equity and Inclusion, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico.
⁴ Research Fellow, LMSA National Center for Leadership and Advancement; Resident Physician, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario Ramón Ruiz Arnau.
⁵ Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah.
⁶ Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Department of Pathology, Washington University School of Medicine.
⁷ Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Pediatrics, Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, University of California, Irvine.

Abstract

Introduction: The concept of minority tax, referring to the extra, often uncompensated burden placed on underrepresented in medicine individuals to take on diversity-related work, mentorship, and emotional labor in addition to their primary responsibilities, has emerged as an important topic for minoritized faculty, staff, and trainees in health professions education. This tax can encroach on their more valued academic performance, research time, and career advancement opportunities, yet few teaching materials introduce minority taxation and how it may be addressed by turning daily experiences and diversity, equity, and inclusion-related work into diversity capital.

Methods: Kern's six-step model guided development of a 60-minute workshop describing minority tax, diversity capital, and approaches for addressing tax by building diversity capital, including minority tax mitigation, value-based alignment, and tax reform. Educational strategies, delivered in virtual and hybrid formats, included a presentation embedded with reflection exercises and case-based discussions.

Results: One hundred three individuals participated in the workshop, including faculty, residents, medical students, and other health professionals. Thirty-seven participants completed the pre- and postworkshop evaluation. A comparison of pre- and postworkshop responses using related-samples Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a significant increase in learners' confidence in meeting each learning objective (p < .01). Learners particularly valued the inclusion of quotes exemplifying minority taxation, and the interactive, realistic case discussions on building diversity capital.

Discussion: This self-affirming workshop uniquely provides guidance on how individuals, including faculty, trainees, and other health professionals, can begin building diversity capital while institutions work toward more systematic efforts to address minority taxation.

Keywords: Case-Based Learning; Diversity; Equity; Faculty Affairs; Faculty Development; Inclusion; Minority Tax; Recruitment.

MeSH terms

Cultural Diversity*
Humans
Minority Groups* / education
Minority Groups* / psychology
Minority Groups* / statistics & numerical data
Taxes* / trends