Suzanne Clark remembers what it’s like to be the only woman in a room full of corporate executives. Years ago, she was in a meeting when a legislator asked her for a cup of coffee.
“My male colleague got up and said, `Why don’t I get it? It’s more important for her to hear what you have to say,’” said Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tuesday during “Gaming & Diversity: Pushing the Industry Forward,” a panel discussion at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
Clark said she’s never forgotten how her colleague stood up for her. And while women and minorities have made progress across most industries, there is still more work to be done.
“Sometimes we use these lofty words, like ‘inclusion,’ when it can be an everyday best practice,” Clark said. “And I think understanding where your colleagues are coming from, understanding what inclusion means to them, and not your definition of inclusion — this is being an employer of choice.”
According to Marriott International Senior Vice President for Multicultural Affairs, Social Impact and Business Councils Apoorva Gandhi, the path to diversity and inclusion starts with awareness. “We have to recognize societal barriers have been going on for decades, particularly for women and people of color, to enter the workforce.”
Noting that Marriott has an emerging-leadership program that identifies “great folks and women and people of color” to bolster their careers, Gandhi added that it’s important for companies to be proactive, not reactive. The Marriott Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership works with Howard University to enlist prospective employees.
“We want to identify great talents at the university and other levels who may not think about gaming or hospitality as a place to work,” Gandhi said.
By numbers alone, the gaming industry seems to be doing its part to foster diversity and inclusiveness. According to the American Gaming Association, women comprise 51% of all gaming employees and minorities account for 38%.
Does that mean gaming operators are more progressive that their peers in other industries? Perhaps, but it’s also an indication that operators understand hiring women and minorities is a sound business practice.
Senior Vice President and Chief People, Inclusion and Sustainability Officer for MGM Resorts International Jyoti Chopra said the company thinks about diversity as having three dimensions: workforce, workplace, and marketplace.
“We want diversity woven into all facets of them,” Chopra said, “and all of that translates into an impact on our bottom line. … The business case for us ties very much into the marketplace.”
But if diversity, equity, and inclusion are just catchphrases used to imply that a company is simply “checking a box,” according to moderator Contessa Brewer of CNBC, those initiatives do little more than appease constituencies. To be truly diverse and inclusive, companies must make women and minorities stakeholders.
Chopra said that MGM looked at the “heart of its DNA” to evolve a strategy that is true to its core and identify what its role is “in the larger ecosystem of who we serve and what we do.”
“Our customers are diverse. They come in from all over the country and represent different facets of humanity coming from all over the world,” Chopra said. “And it’s important that our workforce is representative of the communities we serve, the geographies in which we’re located, where we have a physical footprint.”
Gandhi noted that people do their best work, and employers get the best return on investment in employees, when there is an established culture of inclusiveness.
“There’s a famous quote,” Gandhi said. “‘Diversity is being invited to the dance, inclusion is being asked to dance, and belonging is feeling like you can dance like nobody’s watching.’ And in the end, associates and guests who feel like they belong are going to do their best work.”
