GVC and International Game Technology (IGT) have been recognised by the All-In Diversity Project as the two highest-ranking companies in the gaming and betting industry for diversity and inclusion progress in its latest All-Index report.
The annual All-Index report is a benchmarking tool that measures the global gambling industry’s workplace diversity and inclusion progress. Of the 26 global companies in the sector that participated in the latest (2019) survey, GVC ranked number one. IGT came second place in the ranking, followed by Sky, Betsson Group and Sis.tv (which tied 5th with another company).
“Being ranked number one is definitely a cause for celebration,” stated GVC’s Inclusion Manager Sophie Wood. “The recognition of the efforts made in our early iterations of our Inclusion Strategy is a huge motivation boost for us to drive our Belonging Strategy forward, and wider and deeper into our core business areas.”
GVC’S BELONGING STRATEGY
According to Wood, one of the biggest challenges that companies in the betting and gaming industry face “is the perceived juxtaposition between the altruism of inclusion and the morality of gambling”.
“Lets face it in some areas of the world, particularly in the UK Gambling has had a bad rap,” pointed out Wood. “I have had instances, for example, when looking into supporting some large UK Pride Events, where the organisers have refused to engage with us, as being in the gaming industry was not ‘commensurate with their principles’.”
One way GVC has overcome this is by “positioning inclusion engagement externally within social responsibility work streams,” noted Wood. “Community engagement with minority community initiatives, for example, sits well within ‘giving back to the community’ work.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION ASPIRATIONS
In the short to medium term, GVC has aspirations to embed its Belonging Strategy and Inclusion Big Bets into its Global Business Planning. “We are going to partner with our Talent & Acquisition Team to expand our attraction for minority groups, combat bias in hiring decisions and ensure that our internal progression pathways are open to all,” explained Wood. The company is also “partnering with the talent team to ensure all manager development and leadership support has our belonging principles integrated into every module,” she added.
In the long term, GVC has aspirations “to establish a truly global inclusive sense of belonging for all by creating a culture where everyone is in the game and can bring the best of their authentic selves to work to thrive and drive our business growth”, added Wood.
INCLUSIVE & EQUITABLE CULTURE
IGT received the second-highest score out of 100, “with only a five-point difference between IGT and GVC”, confirmed the global company. IGT’s ranking represents a significant increase compared to its ninth-place results among 25 respondents in the All-In Diversity Project’s 2018 inaugural report.
“The latest All-Index results demonstrate that IGT has made significant progress advancing our goal of creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace,” stated IGT Vice President, Inclusion and Diversity, Kim Barker Lee. “While there’s still much work to do, the success of ongoing initiatives like our internal diversity training for executives, employee diversity and inclusion groups, and our regional and global Diversity and Inclusion councils prove that with a holistic, company-wide approach and the support of the highest levels of leadership, it’s possible to foster a more inclusive and equitable culture, which ultimately creates a more competitive and successful organisation.”
SHARING BEST PRACTICE
Kelly Kehn, Co-Founder of the All-in Diversity Project, commended all the entrants in this year’s ranking for their transparency and eagerness to share best practices and areas for improvement. “With two reports completed, we now have a tangible set of data showing what diversity, equality and inclusion looks like in practice,” stated Kehn.
Developed in partnership with the Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice at Oxford Brookes University in the UK, the All-Index Report aims to track year-over-year progress by providing an accurate picture of diversity, equality and inclusion across the global gaming and betting sector by collecting data on people, corporate governance, internal policies, recruitment practices, equal pay, employment legislation, company benefits, and advocacy. This year, only the top five highest-ranking respondents agreed to be identified in the latest report.
Click here to read more on the state of diversity and inclusion in the global gaming and betting sector.
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