Diversity In Optical Industry Leads to New Opportunities for Women and Minorities

By Kathleen Steele, Pearle Vision 
 
The optical industry offers a wealth of opportunity for women and minorities interested in healthcare retail.
 
As healthcare franchises continue to flourish, Pearle Vision, one of the largest optical retailers in North America, has benefited by attracting a more diverse workforce and group of licensed owners. A corporate team responsible for recruiting eye doctors runs national digital campaigns to attract a diverse group of optometrists. Pearle Vision also has partnered with a third-party lender to help recent graduates of optometric schools finance the cost of a Pearle Vision franchise. 
 
“Because about half of our licensed owners are doctors, it’s important to us to recruit from as broad of a pool as possible,” says Alex Wilkes, General Manager of Pearle Vision. “It is good for our company and for the communities we serve to have our owners reflect our customers.”
 
The millennial generation, expected to represent 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, can be credited with a stronger emphasis on diversity in recent years. Not only are millennials creating a more diverse workforce than previous generations, but also they are demanding more diversity in the companies they work for(1) and patronize(2).
 
A Harvard Business School study found that companies with diverse teams reported higher net income and operating revenue. The Harvard study also showed a gender-diverse board led to greater returns on sales, invested capital and equity.
 
According to the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry’s annual student data report, the number of young women and minorities pursuing careers in the optical industry is on the rise. Just look at these statistics:
 
Between the academic year of 2006-'07 and 2018-’19, the number of women enrolled in doctor of optometry (O.D.) programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico grew by 4%, with women now constituting 68.2% of O.D. candidates.

In 2018, 67.9% of graduates of professional O.D. programs were female. Between the academic year 2006-’07 and 2018-’19, the number of minority students enrolled in O.D. programs grew almost 10 percent to 48.6 percent. In 2018, more than 41 percent of all O.D. program graduates were minorities.
 
As diversity has increased among those working in the eye care industry, women and minorities in leadership at companies such as Pearle Vision have worked to raise awareness of the sense of community that exists among women and minorities in the field.
 
Licensed owners, who come from backgrounds ranging from optometrists to entrepreneurs, provide a peer support system for one another. Especially within communities of women and minority groups, established owners are glad to act as sounding boards for newer owners who are still trying to learn the ropes.
 
Ambreen Essani, who with her husband, Amir, owns two Pearle Vision EyeCare Centers in Schaumburg and Vernon Hills, Ill., says she always encourages other female owners to reach out when they have a question. “You absolutely will receive an answer that can help you,” she says. “Our ‘village’ really looks out for one another.”
 
Kathleen Steele is vice president of operations services for Pearle Vision. She develops and implements programs that improve franchise and corporate store operations, enabling licensed owners and their teams to provide a better quality of care for patients.
 
1. Millennials@Work: Perspectives on Diversity & Inclusion, by Weber Shandwick, the Institute for Public Relations and KRC Research.
2. Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey.