Diversity is such an important component in our world. Beyond Sport’s summit was major in this movement and they reached a new milestone with this.
How many times have you walked in to a room and felt uncomfortable because you couldn’t identify with anyone you saw? Many of us have felt that way and it’s a normal human reaction. That’s why events or summits such as Beyond Sports’ is so important because it sheds light on the topic that many are perhaps too nervous to speak on. They’re committed to bringing change to something some of us love: sports.
On the field, there may be certain diversity but operations or managerial wise, that’s not the case. Beyond Sport held their summit at the prestigious Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on August 9, 2016. Their milestone is what caught all of our attention.
In partnership with founding supporters MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, and WNBA, Beyond Sport reached over 30 million people with diversity & inclusion learnings and commitments.
That is just huge! But it is a tad alarming that something that we share a connection with doesn’t have the diversity that we all thought existed. Certain sports need more fixing than others but nonetheless, the progress is slowly emerging.
“Sport is a fantastic platform to reduce ignorance and express commonality,” commented Beyond Sport Founder Nick Keller, who challenged the leaders in attendance to “be incredibly present and participative in order to make a statement about the power of these gatherings, and enact positive change in the world.”
Aside from diversity, this summit also hopes to reach gender equality. It’s no mystery that men have been making more money than women.
Richard Lapchick led D&I leaders from the five major US leagues in an exclusive panel reflecting on how they can use their standing to tackle key challenges. Rallying the leaders, Lapchick noted that “Sport can help us lead a transformation of culture within organizations, and not just a change of diversity numbers.”
Beyond Sport did their job in bringing these individuals together. Now it’s time to get to work and hope that within a year, change is apparent.