Culture fit or culture add?” Marilou McFarlane on driving gender equality in sports tech By Lachlan Wills

USA Women in Sports Tech founder Marilou McFarlane says gender equality in sports tech will be reached when more hiring practices break free from their comfort zones.

Deakin University research shows only 16% of Australia’s STEM workforce are women.

That figure is slightly better in America with women accounting for 27% of STEM workers, according to the American Community Survey. 

American entrepreneur and sports executive Marilou McFarlane started not-for-profit Women in Sports Tech (WiST) in 2017 to help drive industry change.

WiST has been partnered by Nike, the NBA, Comcast Universal and a host of the biggest names in American sport to help level the playing field, and create gender equality. 

McFarlane has told The Ministry of Sport Podcast that it’s not just about getting more female job applicants, it’s also about having adequate hiring practices.  

“One of the things we’ve done at WiST is facilitating how businesses interview. Women can be interviewed differently to men. 

“Once the woman has had the courage to apply, and then she’s being interviewed, she will be asked different questions often times, depending on whether the interview panel is diverse and representative,” she said.

McFarlane says breaking well-worn comfort zones is essential, and looking for candidates that add to your culture, not just fit with your culture. 

“If I just go and hire all my football buddies I played with in college, that may fit with me, and may be easy for me, because they’re going to agree with me, but you will not innovate that way. 

“You will not innovate if you don’t bring people with different lived experiences, different personalities, across anything- from gender, to whether you were in the military. 

“We’ve talked a lot about how fabulous veterans are- their experience is so relevant in this industry. Are you respecting their experience?”

McFarlane says this wholistic and thoughtful approach to hiring creates stronger workforces.

Listen to the full podcast episode here: https://ministryofsport.com/ministry-of-sport-podcast/