BASEL, Switzerland: More female club managers, course superintendents and golf course architects would drive greater profitability in the golf industry, according to a leading expert on diversity and inclusion in business.
Liz Dimmock, founder and CEO of Women Ahead, an award-winning social impact organization committed to female development from schoolroom to boardroom, argues there is now clear evidence from multiple international studies that businesses with more diverse management teams are more profitable.
Yet in the United States, the world’s largest golf market, women make up less than 9% of general managers, only 1.5% of superintendents and there have only ever been four female members of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
“What we are learning now is that people from different backgrounds and experiences will view the same problem in a different way and come up with different solutions,” explains Dimmock, who is supporting the R&A’s Women in Golf Charter.
“But it’s not enough just to be diverse. It’s about how inclusive is the culture within which the team operates. How do we reflect the customers to whom we are trying to sell or serve?”
Dimmock highlights the fact that women account for just 24% of all golfers worldwide, yet increased representation and new thinking at senior management level could increase participation among females and families and help unlock what is estimated to be a $35 billion opportunity.
In January 2018, global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company revealed that the gender diversity advantage was even greater than previously thought. Its report, “Delivering through Diversity”, found that companies in the top 25th percentile for gender diversity were 21% more likely to experience above-average profits.
Dimmock concludes: “It’s about having leaders at the top, being inclusive, bringing new ideas and perspectives forward.
“I think golf has such an exciting platform ahead. We are not there yet and we shouldn’t be apologetic for that, but it is building a pathway and by bringing in perspectives from the board right down to entry level colleagues, the face of the golf industry is set to positively change.”
