Inside Asian Gaming

MAR 2019 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 45 “In the gaming industry … the number of women thatmakeupsenior leadershipteams isupslightly from 2017, from 20.8% to 21.5% but only 5.9% of CEOs are females; down from 7.1% in 2017.” BB: What motivated you to become involved in this important initiative? HG: I was motivated by my own lived experiences within the industry. As I became more aware of the barriers I faced and could see them limiting other women, I also became aware that there are actions that everyone can take and if they do these on a regular basis we can reduce the systemic issues. For example, back in 2011 Rob Goldstein from Las Vegas Sands invited me to join the Global Gaming Executive. I was the first and only female alongside nine males and we created the strategy for all the jurisdictions of LVS. There was one particular strategy that I suggested and we then proceeded to change the strategic direction of Sands China for a significant part of the market. This was a huge change for Sands China and proved to be incredibly profitable for many years. In this example, the actions Rob took were very simple: he actively sought out gender diversity from the top down, he listened to a different style of thinking and credited the idea to the person. It is a text book example of how gender equality creates better decision making, greater innovation and improves profitability. BB: How far has the local gaming industry come in the time since Women in Gaming Australasia was launched? HG: There is no silver bullet to achieving equitable outcomes for women. The first step is creating awareness of these systemic issues, the next step is educating for action. Everyone has a role to play in creating equitable outcomes. As a new industry body, we have been focused on raising awareness and seeking action. We have some really exciting initiatives this year including an unconscious bias activity that will be available on our website to help people understand that we are all biased and how you can become aware of your biases; a gender action toolkit with simple steps to promote gender equality and our current focus with our International Women’s Day toolkit to seek action in hosting activities to celebrate the political, cultural, economic and social contributions of women.