Rooney Rule Research Articles

‘They Want Our Culture, Not Our Struggle’: Race and Gender Inequalities in Music, Sports, and Hollywood

When it comes time to disagree that White male privilege exists, insisting race and gender equity is already achieved, deniers often point to prominent people of color in sports and entertainment industries. Famous figures like Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce Knowles, Jay-Z, and Lebron James may, with cursory glance, give impression that—even if fields like finance, technology, medicine, law, and politics have glass ceilings—the entertainment field provides a seemingly utopian space where the playing field has already been leveled, and the so-called American Dream of race and gender equality has assumedly arrived. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, from primary and secondary sources, we look beyond token big names to overall patterns in music, professional sports, and film arenas to document how racial and gender inequality continue to stratify entertainment industries. Our analysis demonstrates that women and people of color are conditionally accepted, at best, to entertain, provided they stay in their proverbial place—seldom owning, directing, or taking the lead, and penalized when speaking out about oppression. We end with recommendations on how to shatter glass ceilings, like inclusion riders and Rooney Rule, along with other ways to bring more women and people of color into more powerful positions in these industries.

Coaching While Black: Race, Leadership, and the National Football League

This article examines the lack of racial diversity among the National Football League's (NFL) head coaches. Focusing on each new coaching cohort since 2013, when all eight of the newly hired head coaches were white, we contest common explanations offered by the League and many sports journalists. Specifically, we challenge the assumption that the racial homogeneity of the coaching population stems from the league's current premium on offensive-oriented coaches, who are overwhelmingly white. Through a careful examination of the experiences of every NFL head coach hired in the last nine years—prior credentials, win-loss records, job prospects if they are fired, among others—we argue that race remains a fundamental determinant in the opportunities of prospective head coaches. We therefore contend that commonly proposed solutions like expanding the Rooney Rule—a league rule established in 2003 that requires all teams to interview at least one person of color when filling a head coaching vacancy—fail to adequately account for the multitude of ways race still operates in hiring and promoting NFL coaches.

Race and Occupational Mobility in the National Football League

The Rooney Rule was implemented in the National Football League (NFL) in 2003 to increase levels of employment for ethnic-minority coaches by requiring teams within the league to interview candidates of color for head coaching and executive level positions. However, only three coaches of color were employed at the beginning of the 2020 season. Framed within the larger context of occupational mobility, the present study aims to identify mobility trends for white coaches and coaches of color and analyzes the root causes for the difficulties that candidates of color experience when seeking higher-level positions within NFL organizations. Results illuminate a variety of institutional issues that exist within the NFL and allow for the development of recommendations that are useful for scholars and practitioners alike.

An exploration into the views of white footballers and coaches on racism in football, and the under-representation of Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic coaches

This article will examine the views of white footballers and coaches on racism in football, and the under-representation of Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic (BAME) coaches. Whilst the views of stakeholders and elite coaches have been critiqued within the literature (Bradbury, 2013; Bradbury, Van Sterkenburg & Mignon, 2014), limited research exists that explores the views of white members of the non-professional footballing community. Data were collected via an anonymous online questionnaire. Forty-two participants took part (N=36 male, N=6 female). Data were analysed using thematic analysis and interpreted through a Critical Race Theory framework. This article draws upon two main themes. The first theme focuses on the perception that whilst racism still operates at an individual and institutional level in football, it is on the decline. Football is perceived to be a meritocracy and moving into a post-racial era. The second theme highlights participants’ views that although racism is multi-faceted, anti-racism should focus on individual acts of racism. Less than half of the participants were in favour of the implementation of a ‘Rooney Rule’ in professional football. Findings and their implications are discussed from a Critical Race Theory perspective.

Gender Diversity in Organizations: Understanding Barriers and Designing Effective Interventions

Companies collectively spend billions of dollars on diversity initiatives each year, which are designed to improve the workplace experiences and outcomes of women and other groups that face disadvantage in society. Despite these efforts, women remain underrepresented in the upper echelons of organizations and receive lower pay and promotion rates than equivalent men. The four papers in this symposium use a range of methodologies to advance understanding of why women experience worse career outcomes than men do and what can be done to foster gender diversity and equity. Specifically, the first two papers provide new insight into the complicated ways in which gender stereotypes create career barriers for women (Martin & Flynn; Chadha, Leslie, & Manchester) and the second two papers investigate innovative interventions for facilitating women’s career success (Bear, Pinkley, Barsness, Mazei, Bhatia, & Sleesman; Chang, Rai, & Milkman). As a set, the papers provide new insight into how gender stereotypes constrain gender diversity and equity, as well as nuanced interventions for removing the barriers women face in advancing their careers. The symposium will conclude with an integrative discussion among participants and audience members. Behind Closed Doors: The Uncommunal Feminine Stereotype Presenter: Ashley E. Martin; Stanford Graduate School of Business Presenter: Frank Flynn; Stanford U. Preventing Backlash: Does Ingratiation Help or Hurt Women? Presenter: Aastha Chadha; NYU Stern School of Business Presenter: Lisa Michelle Leslie; New York U. Presenter: Colleen Flaherty Manchester; - Does Transparency Eliminate Gender Gaps in Pay? Not Always Presenter: Julia Bear; Stony Brook U.-State U. of New York Presenter: Robin L. Pinkley; Southern Methodist U. Presenter: Zoe Barsness; U. of Washington, Tacoma Presenter: Jens Mazei; TU Dortmund U. Presenter: Nazli M. Bhatia; U. of Pennsylvania Presenter: Dustin J. Sleesman; U. of Delaware Evaluating the Efficacy of the Rooney Rule in Promoting Diversity Presenter: Linda Chang; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Presenter: Aneesh Rai; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Presenter: Katherine Milkman; U. of Pennsylvania

Is the Mansfield Rule moving the needle for women and minorities?

AbstractIn 2016, inspired by the NFL’s Rooney Rule, the Mansfield Rule was devised to push soft affirmative action policies, including the so-called 30% rule, to incentivize law firms to affirmatively consider women and underrepresented groups for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and lateral positions. To determine the effectiveness of the Mansfield Rule, I carried out an empirical study that compares those firms that have adopted the Mansfield Rule with law firms that have not. Using a Mann–Whitney Wilcoxon test, I compared the deviation in the demographics, recruitment, attrition, promotion, and committee compositions, including leadership composition, between firms that have been Mansfield-certified, the ‘treatment group’, with the analogous deviation for a ‘comparison–control group’ that did not opt for the Mansfield Rule application. I did so for the years 2007–19. The findings show that the overall population of all law firms and the diversity proportion within the population show an increase from 2007 to 2019, irrespective of the treatment. Furthermore, the treatment had no statistically significant effect on either the growth rate evolution or the predictability of law firms’ behavior related to recruitment, attrition and promotion, and committee composition. These results indicate that applying the Mansfield Rule has no measurable impact on the diversity proportion of the population of the firm, its growth rate, or its predictable behavior related to their firm’s diversity.

Race and the Probability of Becoming a Head Coach for NFL Coordinators Since the Introduction of the Rooney Rule: Why Isn't Eric Bieniemy a Head Coach yet?

A great deal of media attention has been given to the scarcity of black head-coaches in the NFL. Using data on coordinators for every NFL season since the introduction of the Rooney Rule in 2003, the authors estimated several probit regressions to examine how various factors, including race, were correlated with a coordinator's probability of becoming a head coach. There was evidence that, all else equal, black coordinators who played in the NFL have been less likely to be promoted than similar non-black coordinators. Furthermore, there was evidence that black coordinators were significantly less likely to be promoted between 2018 and 2020. The analysis also suggested that a lack of black coordinators who played quarterback or tight-end in college as well as a lack of black coordinators with experience coaching the tight-end and wide-receiver positions in the NFL have contributed to the low number of black head-coaches. The authors also examine the specific case of Eric Bieniemy by using the empirical model to compare Bieniemy's probability of promotion with those of other relevant coaches. This analysis offers several potential explanations as to why Bieniemy has yet to receive a head-coaching opportunity.

Covering the Rooney Rule: An Exploratory Study of Print Coverage of NFL Head Coaching Searches

This content analysis uses media framing theory to explore and compare the rate at which NFL beat writers discussed race in their coverage of the 2020 and 2021 NFL head coach hiring cycles, a perennial process that has historically maintained the statistical overrepresentation of white men among the league’s head coaches. The study of the articles (N = 374) found significant year over year increases in 2021 in both the percentage of all sampled articles overall that mentioned race and in the percentage of stories that mentioned race after a team’s head coach was hired. This study’s findings suggest that, while NFL beat writers are unsurprisingly likely to avoid using race to frame their coaching search stories, their willingness to include race in their reporting may be increasing. Given increased calls for the NFL to address its lack of Black head coaches, sportswriters’ (un)willingness to include race in their reporting of coaching searches has become increasingly relevant. Given this study’s results, we therefore call for further qualitative and longitudinal quantitative studies to more definitively investigate these results as a sustained (and sustainable) phenomenon.

The Impact of “Soft” Affirmative Action Policies on Women and Minority Demographics, Hiring, Promotion, Attrition, and Leadership in Law Firms: The “Mansfield Rule”

In 2016, inspired by the NFL’s Rooney Rule, the Mansfield Rule was devised to push soft affirmative action policies, including the so-called 30% rule, to incentivize law firms to affirmatively consider women and underrepresented groups for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and lateral positions. To determine the effectiveness of the Mansfield rule I carried out an empirical study that compares those firms that have adopted the Mansfield rule with law firms that have not. Using a Mann Whitney Wilcoxon test, I compared the deviation in the demographics, recruitment, attrition, promotion, and committee compositions, including leadership composition, between firms that have been Mansfield-certified, the “treatment group”, with the analogous deviation for a “comparison-control group” that did not opt for the Mansfield Rule application. I did so for the years 2007-2019. The findings show that the overall population of all law firms and the diversity proportion within the population show an increase from 2007 to 2019, irrespective of the treatment. Furthermore, the treatment had no statistically significant effect on either the growth rate evolution or the predictability of law firms’ behavior related to recruitment, attrition and promotion and committee composition. These results indicate that applying the Mansfield rule has no measurable impact on the diversity proportion of the population of the firm, its growth rate, or its predictable behavior related to their firm’s diversity.

Voices on Diversity: Combating Racial Inequality to Increase Diversity

As part of our commitment to amplifying the voices of underrepresented scientists, we are publishing the insights and experiences of a panel of underrepresented scientists in a series of questions and answers. Here, they discuss ways that the scientific community can combat racial inequality and increase diversity. These are the personal opinions of the authors and may not reflect the views of their institutions.

Ethnic inclusion in medicine: the ineffectiveness of the 'Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic' metric to measure progress.

The medical profession is a success story for ethnic diversity. Approximately 45% of hospital doctors and at least 32% of GPs in the United Kingdom are from minority groups.1,2 Fourteen per cent of the UK population is non-White, with a further 5.5% identifying as a minority White group.3 However, success is marred by problems of ‘inclusion’ of minority ethnic doctors.4 Inclusion is defined as ‘ the achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organisation ’s success. ’ 5 The King’s Fund, a health think-tank, has recently highlighted that senior leadership and managerial positions are predominately held by White British and male persons.6 There has been longstanding discussion regarding inclusion in medicine on the basis of characteristics such as gender and socioeconomic status.7,8 However, the events of 2020 — such as the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter protests, and the impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minority groups — have led to a focus on race and ethnicity. The use of a ‘Rooney Rule’, a form of affirmative action to improve racial diversity and/or inclusion, has been touted as a solution to a lack of ethnic inclusion in British medicine. This rule was created in 2003 by the National Football League (NFL) — where at least one candidate from a minority ethnic group must be interviewed by an American football team for the head coach position.9 Affirmative action is a quick way to reduce — or attempt to reduce — racial inequality and exclusion. That does not necessarily make it the best or the only way. In 2003, when the Rooney Rule was introduced by the NFL, there were …

National Football League head coach race, performance, retention, and dismissal

The authors tested for evidence of racial discrimination in the employment retention of National Football League head coaches. A robust data set spanning the modern history of the sport (1985–2018) was generated to examine managerial employment tenure, dismissal, and subsequent organizational performance. After controlling for performance differences and heterogeneity between head coaches, the authors uncover statistically significant evidence that Non-White head coaches experience longer employment spells relative to White head coaches in the Rooney Rule era. No statistically significant evidence of racial differences in the rate at which head coaches are fired is found. Both employment tenure and dismissal are largely driven by raw performance, and to a lesser degree, relative performance. Finally, the relationship between head coach race and organizational performance is examined, but no statistically significant differences by race are uncovered.

Digging Deeper: Exploring the Relationship of the Rooney Rule and Coaching Diversity in the NFL

This paper analyzes the relationship between the Rooney Rule and coaching diversity in the National Football League (NFL). The Rooney Rule is a policy implemented in 2003 by the NFL to address long-standing concerns over minority representation among coaches. The Rooney Rule stipulates that for every head-coaching vacancy, at least one minority candidate must be interviewed for the position. In this paper, I provide input to the research question: To what extent has the Rooney Rule improved minority representation among high-level NFL coaches? The NFL claims the Rooney Rule to be a policy success. However, existing research on the impact of the Rooney Rule suggests mixed findings. Some publications claim that performance, not race, is the primary driver for selecting coaching candidates for high-level positions. Other publications attribute all-time highs in minority Head Coaching hires almost directly to the Rooney Rule. To better understand the Rooney Rule’s effectiveness, I conducted comparisons of minority hiring rates across two different time periods for the following three topics: the comparability of diversity improvements to the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Major League Baseball (MLB), the disparities of racial coaching distribution by team, and the difference of hiring rates of Coordinators among white and minority Head Coaches. Informed by my research findings and discussions in existing literature, my ultimate policy recommendation for increasing diversity within the coaching ranks is to mandate expansion of the Rooney Rule to include Coordinator-level coaching positions, such that minorities are better positioned to become future Head Coaches.

Does english football warrant the rooney rule? assessing the thoughts of british asian coaches

This article examines the Rooney Rule and offers the thoughts of British Asian football coaches working in English football in response to this policy implementation. The Rooney Rule, first piloted by English Football League (EFL) clubs during the 2016–17 season, makes it compulsory for all 72 EFL clubs to interview at least one black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) candidate (if an application has been received) for all managerial and first-team coaching roles. And, on 9 January 2018, the Football Association revealed that they had also adopted the Rooney Rule for all coaching jobs relating to the England national team. Because English football harbours so few BAME coaches, calls for the Rooney Rule to be introduced in English football had started to increase in volume, and led to its trial inception. But, is this policy welcomed or opposed among British Asian coaches? What fundamental barriers does this policy overlook? Is English football ready for the Rooney Rule? And, do British Asian coaches, a group believed to benefit from this positive action policy, deem that this rule is the answer to help facilitate positive change? With the aid of empirical research, this article critically examines and assesses the potential impact of the Rooney Rule and recommends additional inclusionary practices.Abbreviations: BAME: Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic; CBP: The Coach Bursary Programme; EFL: English Football League; EPL: English Premier League; HLCE: Higher Level Coach Education; FA: Football Association; FBL: Football Bowl Subdivision; LMA: League Managers Association; NFL: National Football League; PFA: Professional Footballers' Association; UEFA: Union of European Football Associations.

The Impact of “Soft” Affirmative Action Policies on Minority Hiring in Executive Leadership: The Case of the NFL's Rooney Rule

There is a dearth of affirmative action policies designed to impact executive level hiring. The National Football League's (NFL) “Rooney Rule” is the exception. The Rooney Rule requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for any head coaching vacancy. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I present evidence that the Rooney Rule had a significant, positive impact on the likelihood that a minority candidate would fill an NFL head coaching vacancy. The Rooney Rule could serve as a case study for other types of firms wishing to enact “soft” affirmative action policies to impact executive hiring.

Occupational Mobility Patterns: A Case Study of Leadership and Access in the National Football League

th , 2013; revised August 9 th , 2013; accepted August 20 th , 2013 This short report provides an overview and analysis of data on coaching mobility patterns in the National Football League (NFL). Previous studies in this area have generally focused on the effectiveness of the Rooney Rule (for example, analyzing the hiring process and proposing new strategies to increase the number of non-White head coaches) and comparing the win/loss records of White and non-White head coaches (for example, determining whether non-White coaches are provided with a meaningful opportu- nity to turn around a team with a losing record). This report focuses on whether Whites and non-Whites face systemic and socio-cultural access barriers after one or more stints as a head coach in the NFL. The findings of this study indicate that, historically, NFL teams have been reluctant to hire a non-White indi- vidual for a head coach, offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator position after a non-White indi- vidual has previously been fired or has resigned from a head coach position in the NFL.

Advancing The Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL By N. Jeremi Duru Oxford University Press. 2010. 224 pages. $24.95 cloth

This book consists of a journalistic narrative that traces the events and actors behind the National Football League's (NFL) reform of team hiring procedures aimed to increase the number of Black American head coaches. More specifically, it recounts the roles of four sets of actors who were involved in creating that reform: the two lawyers unaffiliated with the NFL who set the process of reform in motion; the Black American employees of the NFL (many of whom were assistant coaches) who became organized in an interest group named the Fritz Pollard Alliance; the NFL team owners who varied in their attitudes toward changing their hiring procedures; and, finally, the League officials, most especially, the League Commissioner, Paul Tagliabue, who had responsibility for protecting the League's collective interests. Information about the roles of these four sets of actors was hardly visible to the media. Indeed, it seemed that, aside from wanting to create a process that would increase the number of Black American coaches, the NFL had one paramount concern: keep the Leagues' conflicting views about alleged racial bias in-house. The fact that the NFL largely succeeded in keeping its negotiations secret is directly related to this book's major strengths: its behind-the-scene accounts of the events that resulted in the hiring reform, termed the Rooney rule, which were not reported in the media.

Why aren't there more black football managers?

The number of black and minority ethnic (BME) managers in English professional association football, or soccer, has been stable for nearly ten years: there are usually between two and four (out of a possible ninety two). Yet black players regularly make up more than a quarter of professional club squads. The reasons for this apparent under-representation are explored among 1,000 football fans, including players and ex-players, both white and BME. Opinions were solicited via an online research platform http://www.topfan.co.uk, designed and executed by the authors. The findings indicate 56 per cent of respondents believe racism operates at the executive levels of football, i.e. the boardroom. While some accuse club owners and directors of deliberate discrimination, most suspect a form of unwitting or institutional racism in which assumptions about black people's capacities are not analysed and challenged and so continue to circulate. Among the possible remedies to this is the American National Football League's Rooney Rule, which mandates BME candidates’ inclusion on shortlists for senior coaching positions. A third of participants in the research approved of this type of initiative. While black managers are scarce when compared to the number of black players in professional football, their presence is actually an accurate reflection of their number in the total British population. So is the dearth of black managers an under-representation?

Advancing the ball: race, reformation, and the quest for equal coaching opportunity in the NFL

Introduction 1. Baltimore Love 2. An Idea's Origin 3. Superior Performance, Inferior Opportunities 4. Enter the Godfather 5. The Rooney Rule 6. The Coaching Carousel 7. Millen, Mooch, and the Great Detroit Hiring Debate 8. Birth of an Alliance 9. A Season of Dreams 10. Digging New Wells 11. Road to Super Bowl Epilogue

Moving on up: The Rooney rule and minority hiring in the NFL

Detecting and quantifying racial discrimination in the labor market is difficult. The sports industry offers a wealth of data and specific hiring practices which mitigates this difficulty. The Rooney Rule requires National Football League teams to interview at least one minority candidate when hiring a head coach. We examine a unique data set of high-level assistant coaches (offensive and defensive coordinators) from the beginning of the 1970 season through the beginning of the 2009 season to determine whether race is a factor in NFL teams' decisions to promote these assistants to head coach. Using logit and hazard models that control for age, experience and performance, we conclude that conditional on a coach reaching coordinator status, there is no evidence that race influences head coach hiring decisions. We also find no evidence that the Rooney Rule has increased the number of minority head coaches.