Statistical evidence indicates that greater gender diversity benefits business. I look forward to hearing from successful companies in gambling that have implemented strategies to close the gender gap. Let us spread those good practices across the industry!
I went to the 16th International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking at the Mirage Resort & Casino in June-unique conference experience for me, moving from addressing business strategies to promoting academic research.
This was refreshing; no lively speculation, fewer crystal ball readings, much more evidence-based findings. Yet, the two worlds of academia and industry almost never collide; after all, I have always been under the assumption that the industry must be quite eager for numbers, stats, and evidence. There is an obvious need to make them come to collaborate for mutual benefit.
However, little research and evidence exist regarding female leadership in gambling and business performance, probably because there are not as many females leading in gambling and, indeed, in business. This has been known, seen and discussed for years - and, yet, hardly anything has shifted over that time at the leadership level. "How can we sit and say we’re moving toward equality, when in fact we’re not moving at all?”
"How can we sit and say we're moving toward equality, when we are in fact not moving at all?" It's hard to imagine anyone received an answer to this question posed by Jan Jones Blackhurst, Caesars' SVP Government Relations and Corporate Responsibility, at the UNLV conference where gender inequality and bias in business were rocked into the audience by the sheer power of statistics.
I am passionately committed to this topic. In fact, I had briefly made my case through a blog on this here on LinkedIN last December, in favor of a greater representation of women speakers at all our business events.
During her presentation, Jan Jones addressed a number of really interesting statistics. I am tempted to quote all of these; they are so powerful that I think they can tell us a lot. However, I will just give a few, which highlight the influence of women on business and the startling gap that exists between men and women:
- For every two men in Australia that receive a BA degree, three women will do the same
- Advancing women’s equality in the workplace could add $12 trillion to the global economy by 2025 – an additional $2.1 - $4.3 trillion to U.S. GDP alone
- Companies with gender diversity in senior management report 36% better growth in stock prices and 46% better return in equity
- A full-time working woman will lose $443,360 in a 40-year period due to the wage gap and work 12 years longer than a man to make it up
- Women earn 79¢ for every dollar paid to their comparable male counterpart, significantly less for women of colour
- 85% of board members from Fortune 500 companies are white males
There is scant literature on women leaders in gaming. Among the major operators and suppliers based in Australia, it is stated that only MGM Resorts International has a board constituted with not less than 30% female directors.
Companies with women in leadership positions are bound to perform better: ROE by 53%, ROS by 32%, and ROI by a whopping 66%.
"With over 70-80% of all purchase decisions being made directly or indirectly by women and companies with women's representation having shown a better performance in ROE(53%), ROS(32%), and ROI(66%), Jan Jones posed the question of why has so little changed."
This shows the necessity of conducting necessary research into both the conscious and unconscious gender bias and comparing the current perception to the reality. Study done by leanin.org and McKinsey covering 30,000 employees of 118 companies showed that only 12% of men thought women had fewer chances for advancement; when over 1,000 Americans were asked, 9 of 10 T believed there were more women than those 20 who actually do lead major companies.
In order to tackle these problems with specific goals to hold ourselves accountable for our actions (currently, 56% of C-level executives indicate that formalized goals for achieving gender parity are absent in their company), we have to acknowledge that there is a problem first.
The first of the important cardinal points Jan's presentation brought in was was the need for clear goals, also men should be discussed in the conversation. In present-day business, men shape and decide everything; they must be there to effect change; we cannot continue this discussion in isolation.
In order to be successful, all of us need to show what a positive, prodigious difference female participation in leadership and workforce has made toward business. While some evidence about that effect is already there, more is needed-another reason for doing more research in this area.
Setting goals and meeting them will matter only if there is transparency. A better example is that the Human Rights Committee, rating businesses on their LGBT-friendly policies with an 'equality index', can work as an example: the LGBT community made use of their purchasing power to effect changes in business practices - why shall we not have a similar equality index for equity for women, wondered Jan Jones?
Richard Schuetz, in an article for Global Gaming Business, suggests that regulators have a role to play in increasing transparency and equal pay. Sadly, the Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced every year in U.S. Congress, never passed, but does not stop us from self-regulating and imposing our own goals and objectives: What is it that you would do to solve the issue of gender equity in gambling-hospitality?" Jan Jones closed giving us all our responsibilities to make a difference.
What are your thoughts on solving gender equity in gambling-hospitality? As I have posited in my LinkedIn article, as someone putting industry conferences together, I can commit to highlighting this issue at our events and giving greater representation to female speakers.
But what would you do?
Some gaming organizations have embarked on certain policies to mitigate the gender gap. NetEnt has its 50/50 goal for women representation by 2020. Gamesys, in the recent GamCrowd conference held at the Hippodrome, discussed their initiatives designed to encourage men to take on more active parenting roles so as to increase female participation in business.
For those interested in finding out more about the industry scenario, that is, top online casinos in AU, it becomes really significant to look at how gender equality initiatives have been integrated into gambling platforms around the world.
What specific actions are other companies in gambling taking, and who is recording success in their efforts to limit the existing gender gap? It is understood that it is a long chase, but actions must be taken for changes to happen.