A racial and gender diversity report for Major League Soccer (MLS) showed an increase in hiring women after a four-year decline, the Associated Press reported.
Wednesday's report card was written by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida University. AP reported that TIDES examined positions at league headquarters and within franchises from the 2021 season.
Overall, TIDES gave MLS a B grade, with an A for racial hiring and a C for gender hiring.
Though gender hiring got a C, it was still an improvement, with the 74.7-point score showing an uptick from the 2020 score of 69.9. According to AP, that was the league's lowest gender score since 2007.
TIDES director and lead report author Richard Lapchick told AP that the study's biggest positive was this gender turnaround, highlighting that they now have four women as team chief executive officers/presidents.
"There is still much room for improvement," Lapchick said in an email. "But for several years, it has been the gender grades that have been the most problematic in men's professional and college sport. MLS has shown the way they can improve quickly."
The league also earned an A-plus in diversity initiatives, including hiring Sola Winley as the first chief diversity officer in February.
"We are proud of the progress MLS is making in our hiring practices and our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives," Winley told AP. "Change requires intentionality and action, and we take this responsibility seriously."
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
The numerical scores also increased for racial hiring (91.7, up from 90.7) and overall (83.2, up from 80.3). That came despite a methodology change that included categories for team owners/investors, which the report stated would result in slightly reduced grades in all report cards.
The league office in New York posted high grades in racial hiring (A-plus) with 40.3 percent of positions held by people of color and gender hiring (B-plus), with women filling 40.7 percent of positions. The league also earned an A-plus for diversity initiatives, including the creation of its first diversity, equity and inclusion committee, as well as Winley's hiring.
At the team level, the study awarded an A-plus in racial hiring for head coaches and assistant coaches, as well as a B in racial hiring for both general managers and team vice presidents.
Gender grades were generally lower, such as a C for team professional administrative positions (30.6 percent), a D for team senior administration (24.1 percent) and an F for CEO/president roles. But numerical scores broadly increased in gender categories.
In a statement to the AP, Winley said the league views improving diversity efforts as "intrinsically linked to our aspiration to be one of the best leagues in the world." The goal, Winley said, is to "foster an equitable culture that attracts, promotes and retains great people."
TIDES issues annual report cards for professional leagues such as the NFL, NBA, WNBA and Major League Baseball, as well as hiring and graduation rates in college sports.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
