The Pennsylvania casino industry continues to employ about as many diverse people as the state’s overall demographics suggest it should.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) on Friday released its 15th Diversity Report. The annual review is required under the state’s commercial gaming law passed in July of 2004.
The employment breakdown provides insights into how Pennsylvania’s 16 brick-and-mortar casinos are doing when it comes to diversity. The state’s 2004 gaming law requires that gaming licensees work diligently to hire diverse people and ensure that the state gaming industry promotes equity in all aspects of its operations.
The PGCB Diversity Report for the 2021/22 fiscal year shows that the land-based casinos largely maintained their diverse workforces over the past 12 months.
Mozelle Daniels, director of diversity and special counsel to the PGCB, says the state’s casinos employed 14,829 people at the end of FY21/22. Sixty-one percent said they identify as Caucasian, the same rate conveyed in the FY20/21 Diversity Report.
Casinos Maintain Diversity
According to the latest Census, Pennsylvania is home to nearly 13 million people. Those who considered themselves “white alone” tallied 61.6%. That falls in line with the Caucasian employment rate for the state’s casinos.
Fifteen percent of casino workers identified as African American, and 7% said they were Hispanic. Pennsylvania casinos reported the same Black and Hispanic employment rates in FY20/21. Thirteen percent said they were Asian, and the remaining 4% said they were “other.”
Diversity, equity, and inclusion has been and continues to be an ongoing noteworthy achievement of the entire industry,” Daniels said. “The PGCB remains committed to monitoring the activities of the Commonwealth’s licensed casinos in promoting diversity.”
During the FY20/21, Pennsylvania casinos made gains in hiring more diverse people, as minority employment climbed 4% to 40% that year. Minorities represented 39% of the 14,829 people employed by the Pennsylvania casino industry in 2021/22.
Though diversity retracted by one percent, Daniels says the industry’s commitment to hiring more non-white people remains in focus. The diversity chief added that casinos are encouraged to work with vendors and suppliers that share similar diversity hiring goals.
Gender Goals Short of State Makeup
Along with racial goals, Pennsylvania casinos are to seek a level gender playing field. However, men accounted for 8,478 of the 14,829 gaming industry jobs in the FY21/22 Diversity Report — or more than 57%. The Census report shows that men account for only 49.4% of the population in Pennsylvania.
For the first time ever in a Pennsylvania casino diversity report, the state explained that 12 casino workers said they did not identify as male or female. The Census Bureau says its sex classification is based on the biological attributes of men and women, specifically chromosomes, anatomy, and hormones.
Finally, Pennsylvania casinos adhere to the state’s wishes that Keystone State residents be given preferential treatment in seeking jobs. Of the nearly 15,000 casino jobs, almost nine in 10 positions are held by a resident of the Commonwealth.
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