This installment of DCI’s exploration of diversity benchmarks focuses on the diversity profile within the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector (NAICS code 71). After having explored two sectors where most jobs require educational credentials (Finance & Insurance Sector and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services Sector); and two sectors where jobs generally do not (Transportation & Warehousing Sector and Health Care & Social Assistance Sector); the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector is a far more diverse sector, covering seemingly disparate industry groups.¹ For example, some industries in this sector require very specific educational requirements (e.g. museum curator, zookeeper), artistic or athletic skills (e.g. opera singer, baseball player), or neither (e.g. casino cashier, roller coaster attendant). This installment compares the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreational sector’s diversity profile to the overall labor force demographic employment rates, as well as how it contrasts to the prior sectors focused on in this series.²

The chart below compares the representation in the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector to the representation in the overall labor force. This chart presents the results in a standardized way by setting the representation in the general labor force to 100%. As an example of how to interpret these comparisons, a ratio of 98% for women, regardless of race or ethnicity, indicates that the percentage of this demographic group employed in the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector is 98% of the average female employee representation in the general labor force. The results are ordered from highest to lowest ratio and DCI is only reporting on groups where representation is greater than 2%.

Perhaps reflecting on the disparate nature of industry groups represented in the Arts, Entertainment, and
Recreation sector, there is substantially less spread between the highest and lowest ratios in this sector (e.g., 44% ratio spread) than in any of the prior sectors explored in this series. For example, Finance and Insurance sector has an 85% ratio spread; Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services has a 178% ratio spread; Transportation and Warehousing has a 200% ratio spread; and Health and Social Assistance has a 176% ratio spread.

This is the first sector explored where White men and women have the two highest ratios. DCI again used practical significance measures to identify whether underrepresentation exists in this sector, as compared to the overall labor force.³ Black and Asian employees overall, and Asian male employees specifically, fall just short of that threshold (79%, 78% and 74% respectively). However, Black women employees are the most underrepresented group within this sector.

In order to understand an employer’s organizational diversity, it is critical to identify useful benchmarks to make employment comparisons and, although there are advantages and disadvantages to many sources, the NAICS’ sector benchmark may be useful for a high-level comparison. However, because the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector includes an enormously diverse set of industry comparisons, the sector’s ratios may be misleading. DCI can assist the industries covered by the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector with more refined benchmarks to identify and mitigate potential employment barriers.