The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in the Casino Industry.
Diversification has become a priority in gambling because it is encouraged by society and women want the same kind of positions at the top as men.
Casinos have a lot to gain from these diverse voices, and they’re able to create something that will be more accessible to an even bigger crowd – and so the entire industry will reap greater profits and sustainability.
Diversity in the Workforce
Diversity is key to any casino business because it brings innovation and creativity to the table, improving customer experience.
Gaming industry is already great in the diversity and inclusion department, but still more to do. The percentage of casino operator workforces are over 60% higher than the hospitality industry and the national average (Hispanics and African Americans are also significantly higher than the national average).
Most casinos offer cultural competency training to their staff to help them recognize and overcome any biases they may have that may be holding up an open-house for everyone. The result is that casinos have an incredibly easy time meeting and exceeding diversity standards. And the Gaming Commission also asks casino licensees to provide in-depth reports of their diversity program; then reviews these reports regularly to see that we’ve been making progress toward it.
Diversity in Marketing
Casinos are working to advertise diversity and train employees who are culturally sensitive. Instead of only young men and white women as targets in casino advertising, a majority of companies now include different ages and races in ads.
Even so, there is still work to be done. It is not yet even 50 per cent of industry managers are women and it is still a majority men who work in construction. Casinos try to combat this problem by promoting gender parity at work, diversity programmes and mentorship programs for underrepresented groups.
Casinos have also been partnering with minority-owned businesses to integrate new products and services into their casinos, which offers an inclusive environment where people of all creeds can gamble without discrimination while benefiting the company financially and gaining community support. For instance, research has found that more diversity equals more satisfied customers and more business expansion.
Diversity in Customer Service
As casino executives have gotten to appreciate diversity more than ever before, they have introduced diversity programs that go beyond compliance. Whether it be through cultural competency training of employees, minority and women-owned business support, community events or even just training employees to appreciate customer/employee difference – ultimately making both more open for customers.
Casinos have also attempted to incorporate gender diversity into the workplace with equal career advancement programs for women and mentoring programmes for women, to address the gender disparity that still exists in the top management of gaming. These efforts work to even out any imbalances that still exist between male gaming executives.
Gender and racial diversity is booming in casinos as 60% of operator staff are minorities today, up 20 per cent in 10 years. These are higher percentages than hospitality industry and national worker populations, yet only 22 per cent of gaming company CEOs are from other backgrounds – a barrier to full equality that casinos will have to overcome if they are to continue as businesses.
Diversity in Leadership
Women are becoming an asset as the gaming sector evolves. Their efforts have extended from the gaming floor manager to online gaming space organiser, they have defied stereotypes.
In American Gaming Association’s latest diversity report, gaming is also significantly more diverse at the first/mid-level manager and professional level than at national and hospitality benchmarks, which serves as a pool of talent from which casino diversity is recruited at an executive and senior-level level in the future.
Casinos now spend significant money training staff on cultural competence, as well as hiring a diverse workforce, so that they are aware of unconscious biases and ensure respectful interaction with customers of all kinds. In addition, casinos often make agreements with minority and women-owned businesses in the area by giving them space to sell goods and services at the casino; both create a more inclusive environment and help local entrepreneurs’ businesses expand locally.
