Entain CEO: Rewrite the rulebook to give women a shot at success

Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen has said the corporate rulebook needs to be “rewritten” to afford women fairer representation and chances of success in business.

Posting on LinkedIn ahead of International Women’s Day, the Dane took the opportunity as a rallying cry for the industry to do more to support women and provide them with the same opportunities afforded to men in order to break the glass ceiling.

Nygaard-Andersen, who has been boss of Entain since January 2021, touched on the bias she has faced in her own career and criticised the “rules” that women must play by to advance, which, she argued, had been “laid out for and by men”.

The CEO said “years of inequality” had had profound impacts on businesses, especially within STEM organisations and highlighted In the UK just 24% of the STEM workforce are women.

She also laid out the economic benefit of levelling the playing field, referencing research conducted by the European Institute for Gender Equality which suggests major economic upturns follow a growth in the female talent pool.

The research revealed that closing the gender gap in STEM education would equate to an economic improvement in EU GDP of €820bn by 2050, with total employment rising from 850,000 to 1,250,000 by 2050.

Nygaard-Andersen did note that while efforts had been made in recent years, there was still a significant journey ahead. She detailed the discrepancy between equality and equity in the workplace and the fundamental need to tackle it.

She said: “Equality is only one part of a solution – it is like being invited to a party, whereas equity is ensuring that at the party, you’re able to take part, be involved and hit the dancefloor, like everyone else is.

“It’s all about fairness and the right to opportunity. Women not only need to play their part in organisations but have the opportunity to thrive within them at all levels.

“The corporate rulebook needs to be rewritten by both women and men through collaboration for meaningful female representation in organisations to increase. Companies that tackle the equality and equity issue and focus on opportunities for women are those that are more likely to win,” she added.

Nygaard-Andersen praised the efforts of Entain in recent years, including its initiative with McLaren’s Formula One team to encourage women into the workplace and its Women@Entain network.

She continued: “At Entain, we’re privileged to be in a position to reshape the world of work when it comes to female representation. And therefore, I believe it is our responsibility to do so.

“We also want to better represent the customers we entertain, and, as a global sports betting, gaming and entertainment company, we’ve seen a considerable rise in women enjoy this form of entertainment.

“As individuals, we can commit to a fairer society for women to thrive in business and realise commercial gains as a result, but, we can achieve so much more together,” she concluded.

Of the 50 companies listed on EGR’s Power 50 2022 list, six were run by a female boss.