Equity, diversity, and inclusion in occupational therapy: Small steps, slow pace, and unrealized potential

Throughout its 100-year history, the profession of occupational therapy has struggled to enact proclaimed core values such as equality, freedom, and justice in the context of its training, academic communities, and workforce. In this chapter, we offer a brief chronology of the major historical touchstones that have defined the professional narrative on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) from inception to the present day. Occupational therapy originated in 1917 as a discipline consisting exclusively of middle-class, white women, a pattern that has been disappointingly resistant to change. Elements of EDI have evolved slowly over time, typically in reaction to larger, urgent, societal events such as the Civil Rights Movement and chronic episodes of systemic racism. Even so, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and other minoritized groups are significantly underrepresented in a profession that remains 84% white. More recent developments such as the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Report and grassroots group the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity evoke hope for a renewed and intentional commitment to adding dimensions of diversity to the workforce and creating inclusive educational environments more welcoming to minoritized learners.