Women are moving into sports leadership jobs

When the Minnesota Twins walk onto Target Field for their home opener this Friday, the starting lineup will be all men. But a lot of women working in top positions off the field make a Twins season possible.  

It wasn’t long ago that women were a rare sight among the male-dominated front office staff of professional sports teams. That’s been slowly changing.

The number of women working on the business side of sports in Minnesota and nationally is steadily increasing. Women are moving into top positions, heading up everything from human resources and legal departments to marketing and accounting.

In 2020, the Miami Marlins announced they were hiring Kim Ng as the general manager, the first woman to work as a general manager in Major League Baseball. Last year, more than 40 percent of the NFL league office were women, according to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks with three women who work in high-level positions for Minnesota sports teams about their experiences and how the front office is changing.  

Guests: 

• Nancy O'Brien is vice president of community engagement for the Minnesota Twins and is heading into her 22nd season with the team.  

• Andrea Yoch is president and co-founder of Minnesota Aurora FC, the community-owned women’s soccer team based in Eagan.  

• Lara Juras is executive vice president and chief people and culture officer with the Minnesota Vikings. She joined the NFL team in November 2018 after spending 12 years with the Atlanta Braves.