Study Shows Gaming Industry Leading the Way in Creating Employment Opportunities for Minorities

WASHINGTON—Commercial casinos employ a higher percentage of black executives, white and black female executives, Hispanics and women compared to other businesses in their states and nationwide, according to results of the 2003 Gaming Industry Diversity Snapshot, released today by the American Gaming Association (AGA).

The snapshot, prepared for the AGA by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) using 2002 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) data, includes gaming industry employment statistics by job category, race and gender and compares these results to related statistics from the broader amusement and hotel industry sectors, other employers in the 11 commercial casino states, and the overall U.S. work force. The statistics show that participating casinos employed a higher percentage of minorities than other businesses in their states (by 20.6 percentage points) and a higher percentage of minorities than the overall U.S. work force (by 17.4 percentage points).

Even when service workers were removed from the equation, participating casinos consistently employed a higher percentage of minorities than their counterparts in other industries. The casinos employed a higher percentage of minority officials and managers among every ethnic category when compared with the adjusted national U.S. work force, and they employed a higher percentage of minority workers in non-service segments. The snapshot showed that, overall, minorities comprised 38.0 percent of participating casinos’ non-service workers, compared with only 27.5 percent of the non-service workers among the national U.S. work force.

Compared with other companies in the broader hotel and amusement industries, the report also indicates:

• Participating casinos employed a higher percentage of black workers in the top four job categories. Overall, participating casinos employed more black workers in seven of the nine total job categories.
• Participating casinos employed a higher percentage of white, black, Asian Pacific/Islander, and American Indian/Alaskan Native workers, while a slightly lower percentage of Hispanics.
• Participating casinos employed a higher percentage of female workers.

“We are proud that the gaming industry remains ahead of its counterparts in creating employment opportunities for minorities at all levels,” said AGA President and CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. “While we are starting from a strong position, we recognize that our industry, like many other U.S. businesses, still has work to do before we can say that our work force—from the board room on down—is an accurate reflection of the diversity of our customers and communities.”

According to the snapshot, the composition of the participating casinos’ work force was 52.9 percent white, 18.3 percent black, 18.3 percent Hispanic, 9.7 percent Asian Pacific/Islander, and 0.8 percent American Indian/Alaskan Native. This represents a slight decrease in the percentage of white and black workers (by 3.2 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively) compared with 2001 data, but a slight increase in the number of Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander workers (by 2.9 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively). The percentage of American Indian/Alaskan Native workers remained relatively constant.

The snapshot aggregated EEOC data from 138 casinos employing 255,757 workers—approximately two-thirds of the commercial casino work force nationwide. It is an update of PwC’s 2001 Gaming Industry Diversity Snapshot, which analyzed 2000 EEOC reports filed by 121 casinos to deliver the first-ever baseline measurement for workplace diversity in the industry. The 2003 snapshot yielded a 14.0 percent increase in participation by casinos and a 36.4 percent increase in the number of employees represented.

Release of the 2003 Gaming Industry Diversity Snapshot is the latest initiative of the AGA Diversity Task Force, formed in 2000 with the goal of respecting and promoting diversity in all aspects of the gaming industry. The Diversity Task Force Subcommittee on Purchasing and Contracting plans to develop a vendor diversity baseline study in 2004, which will serve as a companion piece to the employment snapshot.

To obtain a full copy of the 2003 Gaming Industry Diversity Snapshot, contact Naomi Greer at the AGA at 202-637-6506 or click here.

The AGA represents the commercial casino-entertainment industry by addressing federal legislative and regulatory issues. The association also serves as a clearinghouse for information, develops educational and advocacy programs, and provides leadership on industry-related issues of public concern.