In the latest episode of Martin Lycka’s Safe Bet Show, he is joined by Entain’s non-Executive Director and Global Gaming Women (GGW) Board Member, Virginia McDowell.
Lycka and McDowell embrace an open discussion on the important role women play in the betting and gaming industry, delving into themes of misrepresentation and what GGW and McDowell are working on in building the next generation of female leaders in the industry.
“The problem is, women are tremendously underrepresented in management. The issues that we face as an industry and what I have been trying to solve through GGW and other organisations such as the All in Diversity Index, is making sure that women have the opportunity to advance their careers within organizations,” states McDowell.
“GGW is building the next generation of female leaders in the gaming industry ten years ago, and it was started by the American Gaming Association (AGA). We had a lot of research resources that were provided by the AGA that gave us the ability to do very extensive resource research projects.
“We realized that education was the core of it and what we really needed to do was provide women educational opportunities so that they could advance their careers within organizations.”
The conversation then delves into the pair’s open dialogue on the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the working environment, at Entain in particular.
Colleagues Lycka and McDowell, along with the rest of the world who worked predominantly jobs within an office, began to understand the aftermath of the pandemic and how it has changed people’s perceptions on hybrid working environments.
Lycka goes on to ask McDowell about her work in Atlantic City, New Jersey, being one of the regulatory pillars of the gambling sector in the US and the gratification McDowell gains from being a ‘people person’ within the industry.
