Hannah Gordon works for women’s equity

When Hannah Gordon stepped into her role at the NFL’s headquarters in 2009, she was the only woman working in the salary cap department who wasn’t a secretary.

Now, as chief administrative officer and general counsel of the San Francisco 49ers, she accepts a challenge every time she enters a setting where she is the only woman.

“The biggest challenge is that you need to get more people like you into the room,” Gordon said in an interview from Santa Clara. “That is a weight that those of us who are different in some way often bear … we feel a sense of responsibility to not be the only one.”

Gender equity in the workplace is in the spotlight, notably at the NCAA Tournament. The largest governing body of college sports was forced to apologize after a wave of criticism and then provide the women’s basketball teams with workout facilities that matched those of the men.

Two Black female head coaches met for the first time ever in a tournament championship of a Power Five conference, illustrating how Black women account for a small number of coaches at the highest level of college basketball.

And just last week, U.S. women’s national soccer team players Megan Rapinoe and Margaret Purce met with President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss the wage gap on “Equal Pay Day.”

The problem extends beyond basketball courts and soccer fields, of course, with men accounting for a disproportionate number of executive level positions in front offices. A 2020 report card by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport gave the NFL a grade of C for gender hiring, based on positions at the league headquarters and within franchises. For CEOs or presidents and team senior administration, teams received an F for gender hiring.

Despite the obstacles, Gordon advanced through the ranks of professional football. She was the first female football beat writer at UCLA, she interned for the NFL Players Association and was a law clerk for the Oakland Raiders before going to work at the league office. After two years of helping manage lockouts, salary caps and collective bargaining for the NFL, she was recruited by the 49ers.

To get to her position, which involves leading legal and public affairs, strategic communications, risk management, fan engagement and community relations, Gordon relied on her competitive nature and taught herself not to take things personally when met with adversity.

“When I was in the league office, there was an individual who really did not like me and made my life quite unpleasant at times,” she said. “What I learned was that I had to not let that affect who I am.”

She stopped asking, “What is wrong with me?” and started asking, “What is wrong with the situation?”

The sense of self Gordon developed allowed her to have difficult conversations and make a place for herself in a male-dominated space. Even though she believes women are less inclined to invite conflict, she emphasizes a different skill set she exercised.

“I actually don’t think that women have any less ability to have difficult conversations with other people,” she said. “For the difficult conversation to actually be successful, you need to have excellent listening skills and empathy, and that’s something that women are socialized to have.”

She says changes in the number of female executives can start to happen through programs like the 49ers’ Denise DeBartolo York Fellowship, a one-year internship awarded to female college graduates.