After a 30-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Kim Ng has been named the first female general manager of a national American baseball team, the Miami Marlins.
Ng began her career as an intern with the Chicago White Sox, moving up through the ranks of an organization dominated by men and working with teams like the Yankees and the Dodgers. Ms. Ng most recently served as senior vice president of baseball operations for the MLB.
“This challenge is one I don’t take lightly,” she said in a statement. “When I got into this business, it seemed unlikely a woman would lead a major league team, but I am dogged in the pursuit of my goals.”
This is not only significant within the sport of baseball, but in the sports world at large. Ms. Ng is the first women to be named general manager to any men’s sports league in North America.
“Kim’s appointment makes history in all of professional sports,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated, “and sets a significant example for the millions of women and girls who love baseball and softball.”
Women continue to gain representation in a sport that they were once excluded from. According to the New York Times, “Forty percent of the professional employees at Major League Baseball’s central office are women (the highest percentage since 2008), and 21 women had on-field coaching or player development roles for organizations entering 2020 (up from only three in 2017), according to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.”
Sources: NYT 11/13/20; ESPN 11/13/20; CNN 11/1320
