SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Equality is ‘only one part of the solution’ to ensuring greater visibility and leadership of women in STEM, including in betting and gaming-related workspaces, Jette Nygaard-Anderson has outlined.
Speaking from years of experience in the technology and betting industries, the Entain CEO has voiced her opinion on how these sectors can better leverage and benefit from female talent.
Nygaard-Anderson noted that ‘everyone’s invited to the party, but not everyone’s dancing’, explaining her view that equality is just one part of the solution, the other element being equity.
“It’s all about fairness and the right to opportunity,” the CEO explained in a Linkedin post. “Women not only need to play their part in organisations but have the opportunity to thrive within them at all levels.
“The corporate ‘rulebook’ needs to be rewritten by both women and men through collaboration for meaningful female representation in organisations to increase.
“Companies that tackle the equality and equity issue and focus on opportunities for women are those that are more likely to win.”
From her position of executive leadership of one of the world’s largest gambling group’s and a FTSE100 enterprise which recorded an 11% uptick in Q4 2022 trading, Nygaard-Anderson reflected that Entian is in a ‘privileged position’ to reshape female representation in the workplace.
However, the CEO did also note that in her years of experience she has also encountered bias against female business leaders in general, but ‘particularly in STEM’, adding such discrimination is ‘deeply rooted in society’ and happens to this day.
“To be successful, women often have to play by a set of rules, laid out for and by men,” she said. “And there are many examples where women around the world aren’t being considered for their potential, simply because of who they are. Years of inequality has made a profound impact on the talent balance of organisations.”
By overcoming such prejudices, tech firms – and those with a strong stake in tech – can benefit greatly, Nygaard-Anderson reiterated, citing statistics to support her view.
A European Institute for Gender Equality study showed that closing the gender gap in STEM education would equate to an economic improvement in EU GDP of €820bn by 2050.
Regionally, it would also result in a rise in employment from 850,000 to 1,250,000, whilst a McKinsey report outlined an increase in worldwide GDP to between £12tn and $28tn.
The CEO asserted: “Without more women in STEM careers, companies around the world are missing out on a material financial upside.”
Concluding her statement, Nygaard-Anderson stated it was Entain’s ‘responsibility’ to influence the representation of women in high profile companies.
“We also want to better represent the customers we entertain, and, as a global sports betting, gaming, and entertainment company, we’ve seen a considerable rise of women enjoy this form of entertainment.”
