The NHL has decided to diversify after the league released a report Tuesday that showed white men comprise the majority of its workforce.
Based on the 4,200 people who participated in the voluntary and anonymous survey, the 24-page report says that 83.6% of its workforce is white and that men make up 62% of the total, The Associated Press (AP) reported. On the ice, about 90% of the league’s players and coaches are white. (RELATED: Colleges Chose Diversity Over Merit. Now, They’re Getting Neither)
The NHL’s first internal demographic study found its workforce to be overwhelmingly white.
Kim Davis, NHL EVP of social impact, growth and legislative affairs, says seeing the numbers is a first step toward fixing the problem.
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“The whole purpose behind doing a workforce study is to provide a baseline: a fact-based baseline so that you can begin to develop very intentional and specific strategies around where you need to hire, how you need to hire, how you need to improve your brand,” Kim Davis, the NHL’s executive vice president of social impact, growth and legislative affairs, said. “This is a good start, but there’s a ways to go.”
The University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport will turn the NHL’s data into a report card, The AP reported. UCF gave the NBA an overall Ain 2022. The report card notes percentage of white players in the NBA was 17.4% and office professional employees was 56.3% in 2022.
Davis said change in the NHL starts at the grassroots level in underrepresented communities. The NHL has planned several ways to do that, from education and community initiatives to marketing and partnerships.
“You can’t expect to recruit (Black, Indigenous and people of color) folks to work in the league if you don’t at the same time have your stadium fan code of conduct underway so people feel like the sport is really serious about growing the fan base,” Davis said. “You also have to make sure that you are reaching out to the communities from a youth participation perspective, so all of those efforts are underway.