In accordance with the Ted Stevens Act, the USOPC’s Diversity and Inclusion department annually collects diversity data from the USOPC, NGBs and HPMOs. The data is due April 1 and is based on each organization’s demographic data as of Dec. 31 from the previous year.
Once the data is collected, the USOPC works with a consultant to compile more than 4,000 data points into unique scorecards for each NGB, HPMO, and one for the USOPC.
The benchmark is derived from a combination of the U.S. Census, NCAA, and the specific NGB or HPMO’s data. The benchmarks are tailored to each NGB and HPMO to adjust for their staff size, financial resources and uniqueness of their sport. For example, USA Volleyball’s benchmark for membership data is based on 50 percent U.S. Census data and 50 percent NCAA data. For other sports like Team Handball, NCAA data is not applicable.
The DE&I Scorecard measures the diversity of the USOPC, NGB and HPMO’s board of directors, standing committees, staff, membership, national team coaches and athletes, and developmental team coaches and athletes. The scorecard also measures the participation of women, people of color (African American\Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander and two or more races), persons with disabilities and veterans.
The benchmarks are designed to provide an assessment and comparison of the NGBs and/or HPMOs while considering the uniqueness of each organization. For example, the benchmark for the percent of female coaches on the team is based on the percent of women on the team. Simply, the coaching staff should reflect the diversity of the team. This factor is important because some sports, like boxing, have not had female participation as long as other sports, like swimming, for instance. Therefore, fewer female coaches in boxing would be expected (at this point in time).
Scores and colors are given as a percent of the benchmark. For simplicity, the scorecard uses green, yellow and red. Green indicates 85 percent or greater; yellow for 69-84 percent; and red signifies 68 percent or lower. Note that red is indicative of an opportunity to grow the sport and should be viewed as a positive prospect for creating strategy.
The color scheme allows for a quick indication of where an opportunity might exist, but it should also be put into context. In some cases, the numbers are quite small, so a change of one or two people can be very significant. Therefore red, although noteworthy, does not necessarily indicate failure.
