All-In Diversity Project reports widening gender gap in gaming

All-In Diversity Project Report 20-21
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The latest report from the All-In Diversity Project, including its All-Index, indicates some great strides for the gaming industry when it comes to diversity and inclusion. It also highlights some areas where the industry is struggling, most notably when it comes to older women.

The report, which covers roughly the span of the pandemic, is based on a survey that went out to 40 organizations and 144,000 participants across the globe, representing every continent save Antarctica. SBC Global, our parent company, is a founding partner of the non-profit project.

Men outnumber women with 56% of gaming jobs

One of the major findings of the report is that the employment split between men and women has shifted from 50-50 to 56% male, 43% female. For the first time, there was also a measurable number of participants who identified as non-binary.

Executive boards continue to make strides, with 29% female representation. The number of women in senior-level positions is growing. Unfortunately, the number of entry-level and management-level women in these roles is shrinking. Given that the best means to cultivate talent is to hire and promote from within, the industry could potentially be setting itself up for a talent drought in the coming years.

The menopause is impacting industry representation

The topic of menopause does not come up very often, but it is important to discuss in this context. According to research released during World Menopause Day, roughly 25% of women going through menopause have considered leaving their jobs for reasons related to their symptoms. The Great Resignation is largely driven by women in this age group leaving the workforce.

The All-In Diversity Project called on employers to be more aware of the impact of menopause on employee health both to protect the affected employees and to ensure senior-level female executives do not leave the workforce and further the gender imbalance in the industry. The lack of female role models in gaming leadership could result in a decrease in female mentorship, which could, in turn, negatively impact the number of women working their way up the corporate ladder.

Global gaming industry is 85% white

Despite the global scope of the survey, the vast majority of participants identified as white. Research also indicated managers could have a blind spot when it comes to which groups were most impacted by the pandemic. While entry-level employees polled cited ethnic groups as one of the groups most impacted by COVID-19, no leadership surveyed said the same. Rather, they flagged women and older people as the two most impacted groups.

Job priorities vary across the generation gap

The impact of COVID-19 is not the only thing Generation Z and older members of the gambling industry differed on. This slide from All-In Diversity Project’s report on the study sums up what each group seeks well:

All three groups have re-evaluated the importance of job flexibility and working from home in the wake of the pandemic. Unlike their superiors though, Generation Z values the ethics and impact of the company they work for over the more individual metrics of managers and leaders.

It does appear employers are responding to the growing desires for companies to practice what they preach. The press release accompanying the report summed things up well:

“There has also been a noticeable shift from passive policy to active awareness and practice. Whilst the number of organizations with equal opportunities and anti-discrimination policies has dropped, the number providing practical training and guidance in these areas has gone up, together with an increased focus on addressing harassment/bullying, challenging behavior/language, and cultural stereotyping.”

All-Index ranks Sky Sports and Betting as top employer

As part of the survey, All-In Diversity Project also assigns a numerical score, its All-Index, to the top companies participating in the survey.

This time around, the top score went to Sky Sports and Betting, which scored 85 out of 100 points. Second place went to Kindred with 79 points, and IGT rounded out the top three with 78 points. Only 12 of the 40 companies surveyed scored above 50.