The NFL is heading into this season with 12 female coaches -- a record high -- and women now make up 38.2% of NFL office jobs, another all-time high. Women who work within the NFL discuss the initiatives that are driving more gender diversity, including the league's Women's Careers in Football Forum.

Employers can improve their recruitment and retention efforts in this competitive market by offering flexibility, not only through remote working but by rethinking the concept of a fixed 9-to-5 workday, David Armano writes. Armano recommends adopting an "Always Be Recruiting" approach to nurture existing talent and providing support and opportunities for employees to experiment beyond their existing roles.

Employers are realizing that child care obligations are one of the most pressing challenges to solve to retain and recruit talent, which is why more companies are offering child care solutions. "Corporations need to realize that when they're helping their employees care for their families, their employees are coming to work with a whole different mindset," says Bright Horizons' Maribeth Bearfield.

Durable skills, also referred to as soft skills, are just as important as college-learned trade or technical skills -- with some HR managers favoring durable talents over hard knowledge, according to a report from Mursion. The report notes that colleges should ensure these skills are taught in curricula to make job applicants more competitive.

When we assume that people understand our requests, will give us feedback and know how their work contributes to the organization, we set ourselves up for frustration and misunderstanding, writes John R. Stoker, who offers 12 mistaken expectations that can trip us up. "Part of becoming more emotionally intelligent and a more effective leader is about identifying our expectations and clearly sharing them with others," Stoker argues.

In fall 2019, I took my niece, Laila, to a flag football camp for girls in Los Angeles hosted by Jen Welter, the first woman to coach in the NFL. This was no fluffy, girly camp. It was a full day of instruction, drills and short scrimmages. I watched my niece learn how to throw, catch with diamond hands, run routes and rush a passer.

Laila ate it up. She’s grown up in a football family -- her father is a coach and her brothers and cousins all play high-school and college ball. This camp was her chance to play the game she’s always had to just watch. She threw herself into every drill and at the end of the day -- hot and sweaty with her pink cheeks streaked with dirt -- she turned to me in the car and said, “That was so fun, Aunty! Can we do this again?”

You got it, Lai.

Because more women are breaking into the top ranks of professional football, as we see in today’s Top Story. Women who grew up loving this game and speaking the language of the gridiron are now coaching, scouting, officiating and more. And some are running the whole show as team presidents.

Maybe one day I’ll be in the stands watching my niece on the field, or coaching from the sidelines. Or in the owner’s box. The dream is becoming reality.

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