NEW YORK — The NHL released its first-ever comprehensive diversity and inclusion report at its board of governors meeting on Tuesday, highlighting efforts to promote social change while offering insight into its demographic challenges.
The 24-page report, titled “Accelerating Diversity and Inclusion,” details the past two years of work by the NHL’s Inclusion Executive Council and three subcommittees, which were created to review and take action. action on diversity issues faced by players, fans and hockey in general. levels.
“We are working to better understand and accelerate our engagement across all layers of diversity, including nationality, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and religion,” the NHL commissioner wrote. , Gary Bettman, in the report. “Every day we are committed to making inclusion more ‘who we are’ than ‘what we do’.”
Much of the report focuses on NHL hiring practices that were assessed through a targeted workplace demographic study.
According to the report, positive steps have been taken. The league has partnered with Jopwell, a diverse hiring startup, to expand its talent pool and hired a full-time recruiting director in late 2021 in a bid to attract more diverse talent. The NHL Coaches Association has created mentorship programs for women and BIPOC candidates, while the 2021-2022 roster of AHL on-ice officials includes 10 women. Five women are now assistant general managers in the NHL, and San Jose’s Mike Grier has become the first black general manager in league history.
“It’s a good start, but nobody’s taking a victory lap,” said Kim Davis, NHL executive vice president of social impact, growth and legislative affairs. “We did this because we wanted to put a stake in the ground. Being transparent and being held accountable isn’t as scary as it was three years ago. Hopefully [the governors] see that their leadership matters. Coming back to talk to their C-suite executives made a difference.”
But there are still great demographic inequalities in the NHL. According to the report, 83.6% of NHL and team employees are White, 4.17% Asian, 3.74% Black, 3.71% Hispanic/Latino and 0.5% Indigenous, while 2. 48% of employees chose not to answer. The report also found that 65.44% of NHL interns and fellows are white, while 69.6% of human resources departments are white.
The report found that 61.86% of NHL workers identify as male, with 36.81% as female. These numbers change dramatically when it comes to marketing, branding and content employees, as 52.72% identify as male and 46.2% as female.
Four in 10 NHL fans in the United States are women, according to a study cited in the report.
According to the report, 93.14% of the NHL’s workforce identify as straight or straight, 1.52% as bisexual, 1.12% as gay and 0.81% as lesbian.
Davis said there is work to be done to make the NHL more attractive to candidates from underrepresented groups.
“When you talk about employing underrepresented audiences, [people are] like ‘OK, we’re awake and we’re going to hire some people.’ The question is, how do these markets view you? How are they experiencing your brand?” Davis said. “There’s marketing work to be done with these under-indexed populations. It’s like, ‘I know I can do this, but can I survive and thrive?'”
Part of that marketing is a new “Fan Code of Conduct” that was developed with Sports Innovation Lab, a sports marketing company co-founded by Hockey Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero. Its aim is to create a welcoming environment for all fans, covering aspects such as safety and promoting a better experience for those with health conditions or disabilities.
“If people hear about a bad reception inside the stadium, they probably won’t want to work for us, will they?” Davis said. “Everything relates to everything else.”
The code of conduct was one of two key recommendations developed by the NHL Fan Inclusion Committee. The other was a “pod” structure that will bring together the NHL, its teams, and underrepresented audiences and experts to learn how best to build authentic relationships with these communities. The first Marketing Pod Club, focused on the South Asian community, began meeting in June.
The report focuses on seven “dimensions” that connect the NHL’s diversity efforts: leadership, education, employment, marketing, partnerships, participation and community engagement.
Davis said education has been the NHL’s biggest area of growth. The league launched a significant portion of its third-party education work during the COVID-19 pandemic, when revenues were down and staff were away. But Davis said the NHL has spent more than $500,000 to facilitate Zoom-based “intensive learning” for all league employees.
“There’s an old saying that ‘if you know better, you do better’. When you give that kind of attention to this kind of work, it helps people feel comfortable with what’s often uncomfortable. And it’s uncomfortable because it’s not something they’ve been through,” Davis said. “Some people are embarrassed to say that. I think the last two years, following the murder of George Floyd, has allowed us all to become more open and vulnerable about the things we don’t know, and that has certainly accelerated our work.”
The death of Floyd, a black man, while in Minneapolis police custody in May 2020 has become a catalyst for a racial and social justice movement that has swept the sports world. NHL teams and players have made public statements about racial injustice and issued calls for action after Floyd’s murder.
Since then, the league as a whole has been criticized for not being as vocal or active on racial issues in the public sphere. Davis believes the momentum of this moment continues behind the scenes. She cites the NHL’s Player Inclusion Committee as an example.
“They made specific recommendations that go beyond dressing room training on how they want to engage as players,” she said. “When you have a movement like this, not everything will be public. It shouldn’t be. There’s a lot of work to be done behind the scenes.”
For example, Davis said there has been communication with teams regarding their approach to law enforcement appreciation parties, in terms of how some of their fans might view them.
“I think it’s, for a lot of us, a blind spot in how one part of the community can look up to the band and another part can fear the band, and both can be true depending on their point of view. “Davis said. “As we spoke to the clubs, they listened and many of them learned to do better. It’s complicated [issue]but people are open to hearing and understanding how perceptions can become reality for those we try to make comfortable and welcome in our sport.”
There is more work to be done behind the scenes. The report says 27 NHL teams have established or are in the process of establishing D&I councils or task forces, up four teams since Davis’s group was formed. Davis said some teams that haven’t established them are facing pandemic-related staffing issues. Only 14 teams employed a professional whose function is dedicated to D&I. Davis said some team owners have these professionals in other facets of their business structure, while other teams are still learning what type of person to look for to fill that role.
The report notes some future initiatives, including a relaunch of the “Hockey is for Everyone” campaign by the NHL and the NHLPA into a broader coalition of partners “who use sport as a force for empowerment and inclusion”. There will be further expansion of the NHL’s street ball hockey program. The league also plans to administer another demographic workforce study to assess progress in diversity hiring practices.
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