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positive commitment to businesses that represent “average business owners” within a community. I think this issue deserves closer examination in an upcoming
feature. The American Gaming Association (AGA) released a major Gaming Industry Workforce Diversity Report in Spring 2023. Five sections analyzed representation by specific metrics: • Gender percentages almost duplicated national numbers. Women make up 47.5 percent of gaming employees, near the overall female population percentage. However, disparities appear in managerial jobs, similar to national totals.
• Minorities comprise 61.3 percent of gaming’s workforce, significantly more diverse than the national 41.7 percent figure/51.8 percent in the overall hospitality industry. Gaming operators are also now more racially and ethnically diverse at 62 percent, 20 percent higher than in 2011. The national benchmarks are 41.7 percent; 51.8 percent within the hospitality industry.
fairness, justness, impartiality and even-handedness. “Equity” is defined as recognizing “that each person has different
circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.” I recently spoke with Mike Pollock, now Senior Policy Adviser at
the international Spectrum Gaming Group. I’ve known Mike for decades from Atlantic City. In the 1990s, he was one of the founders of what is now the East Coast Gaming Congress. Mike has a long history of gaming reporting and consulting. He confirmed the industry’s commitment to DEI. Mike said
gaming has “long recognized that its employees reflect the customer base.” As a public, highly-regulated industry, there is an added layer that
focuses on both operators and suppliers. Although the concept has existed for decades, Mike claimed implementation has had its “fits and starts.” Because New Jersey has the second-longest operating gaming
program, he cited its longstanding goals to increase the number of minority and women-owned companies. Mike described “shocking” early numbers of mostly celebrity-owned businesses. Over time, significant progress now includes what Mike calls a
• The gaming workforce is more diverse and represented-55 percent-than national and hospitality levels across all executive/ senior and mid-level managers and professional classifications. As visible industry leaders, many represent the future talent pool for advancement. The AGA aims to work towards expanding diversity this year. I am conflicted about this issue. Fairness matters most to me.
Everyone should have equal access to opportunities, but I’m against possibly tweaking job requirements or results. I’ve long practiced this philosophy. After college, I taught high
school English for a few years in both wealthier and poorer school districts. Whenever I assigned a term paper, my rules were the same: do the research, type the paper (on the old “stone age” electric typewriters) and sign their name behind the last page. Before knowing the author, I evaluated the content and graded the paper on the front page. Its merit superseded my personal feelings about students or their lives. That’s what equality means… no one has an edge because of who they are or their life story. What they’ve done measures their success. My family practiced that mantra for almost 50 years. Within our
own amusement company where I worked for years, the employee roster included Vietnamese, Hispanic, White and Black workers, all hired and retained for their competency. In 2024, across American institutions, “equity” and “lived
experience” are now common buzzwords for admission and/or employment. At least 40 top U.S. medical schools have lowered scholastic admission standards and pre-admission testing. Similarly, Washington State just dropped its mandate stating a
lawyer must pass the licensing exam to practice. The Washington Bar Licensure Task Force wrote the exam “disproportionately and unnecessarily blocks marginalized groups from entering the practice of law… In addition to the racism and classism written into the test itself, the time and financial costs of the test reinforce historical inequities in our profession.” My immediate family is filled with lawyers, including my husband Norman and late brother-in-law Bob, who both came from poor families. Over 35 years, everyone took and passed the bar exam in multiple states. In 2024, it still tests knowledge in multiple disciplines and a personal/professional commitment. Do you care about demographics, or is your surgeon’s and
lawyer’s skills in the operating room and courtroom more important? The list of corporations and institutions “adjusting” their standards
is long. Does that include gaming? If so, how much? That is what I hope to learn.
10 APRIL 2024
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