Wait, Is the NFL a Model of Gender Diversity?

Yesterday, millions of women tuned in to the year’s biggest athletic event, and not just because of a certain pop star in the stands. Even before Taylor Swift added swaths of young girls to NFL viewership numbers, women made up nearly half of its fan base. 

But for much of its history, the diversity of its viewers stood in stark contrast to the NFL’s predominantly white male employee base. In recent years, the League has promoted its efforts to increase diversity, but has it really evened the playing field for women? Here’s what we know:

The NFL changed their playbook 

In 2014, a video showing Ravens player Ray Rice delivering a knock-out blow to his fiancée, for which he received only a two-game suspension, caused an uproar among NFL fans. In response, Commissioner Roger Goodell promised to crack down on sexual assault and hire more female executives.

That year, the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES), which rates athletic organizations on their diversity, gave the NFL a C- for its gender hiring practices, reflecting a lack of women in scouting, coaching, and team leadership roles. True to its word, the League has since made conscious efforts to change its ways:

• It hosts an annual Women’s Forum to connect female job candidates with team executives and hiring managers, giving aspiring employees the exposure and networking often required to secure positions in the league. The program was launched in 2017 by Sam Rapaport and has expanded steadily since; today, all 32 teams participate.

• In 2022, the NFL broadened the Rooney Rule, which mandates that teams interview minority candidates for leadership roles, to include women. It also added an incentive for teams to cultivate diverse leadership, giving draft picks to those that develop minority employees who go on to head coaching or general management positions.

• Women leaders within the NFL make a concerted effort to pave the way for newer female employees, including a group chat where they offer moral support and opportunities to find mentors within the organization.

By many measures, these efforts are working. In the last four years, women have officiated and coached in the Super Bowl. The number of women in full-time coaching or operations roles has risen 141% since 2020, with ten women in full-time coaching roles and nearly 70 in scouting and personnel. Across the NFL League Office, 41% of employees were women as of 2022, and women hold key executive positions such as Chief Security Officer and Chief Revenue Officer. 

But the League’s record is far from undefeated

In 2022, the New York Times published an exposé about women’s experiences working for the NFL. Interviews with 30 former employees detailed an environment where women were sidelined and passed over for promotions, describing a “stifling, deeply ingrained corporate culture that demoralized some female employees, drove some to quit in frustration and left many feeling brushed aside.”

In response to the Times article, prosecutors in New York and California launched a joint investigation into alleged workplace discrimination at the NFL, centered around claims of discrimination and sexual harassment. Most notably:

• In 2022, a House inquiry into the Washington Commanders detailed a “toxic work culture” that included “ignoring and downplaying sexual misconduct,” stemming in large part from the behaviors of then-owner Dan Snyder.

• Jennifer Love, who was fired from her role as the Director of NFL Enterprises, filed a lawsuit claiming her termination was a retaliation to complaints about a sexist, boys’ club culture.

The attorneys general didn’t specify a timeline for the investigation, which appears to be ongoing. 

So what can we conclude?

While it may not make the honor roll yet, the NFL managed to pull its grades up – the 2023 TIDES report gave it a B for gender hiring. And women like Dawn Aponte inspire optimism: now the Chief Football Administrative Officer, she got her first job with the NFL in the 1990s, working as an accountant for the New York Jets. She’s been a role model for other women in the league, and none moreso than Aponte’s own daughter, who, as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs, added “two-time Super Bowl winner” to her resume last night.

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