Equity, diversity, and inclusion in sports analytics

TL;DR

This study investigates equity, diversity, and inclusion issues in sports analytics, revealing significant disparities and perceptions of discrimination, and offers recommendations to foster a more inclusive environment.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive survey-based analysis of EDI in sports analytics, highlighting disparities and proposing actionable solutions.

Findings

Majority of sports analytics professionals are young, White, heterosexual, and male.

Significant pay gaps exist between genders and races in management roles.

Females face higher discrimination and feelings of exclusion in the workplace.

Abstract

This paper presents a landmark study of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the field of sports analytics. We developed a survey that examined personal and job-related demographics, as well as individual perceptions and experiences about EDI in the workplace. We sent the survey to individuals in the five major North American professional leagues, representatives from the Olympic and Paralympic Committees in Canada and the U.S., the NCAA Division I programs, companies in sports tech/analytics, and university research groups. Our findings indicate the presence of a clear dominant group in sports analytics identifying as: young (72.0%), White (69.5%), heterosexual (89.7%) and male (82.0%). Within professional sports, males in management positions earned roughly 30,000 USD (27%) more on average compared to females. A smaller but equally alarming pay gap of 17,000 USD (14%) was found between White and non-White management personnel. Of concern, females were nearly five times as likely to experience discrimination and twice as likely to have considered leaving their job due to isolation or feeling unwelcome. While they had similar levels of agreement regarding fair processes for rewards and compensation, females "strongly agreed" less often than males regarding equitable support, equitable workload, having a voice, and being taken seriously. Over one third (36.3%) of females indicated that they "strongly agreed" that they must work harder than others to be valued equally, compared to 9.8% of males. We conclude the paper with concrete recommendations that could be considered to create a more equitable, diverse and inclusive environment for individuals working within the sports analytics sector.