Major League Baseball has informed its clubs that some have provided work accommodations for female employees that are "embarrassingly below" standard.
Teams have been asked to provide documentation for home and visiting female coaches by June 3, per a memo from Michael Hill, MLB senior vice president for on-field operations, that was obtained by ESPN and The Associated Press.
Teams have been asked for "detailed floor plans, descriptions, photographs" showing current conditions and plans for improvement.
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“We have required that each club provide both home and visiting female staff that requires access to a locker room with a clean space that: (i) is in close proximity to the respective home or visiting clubhouse; (ii) is private; and (iii) includes appropriate restroom and shower facilities,” Hill wrote. “Over the first six weeks of the season, it has become clear that a number of clubs are not in compliance with these requirements, particularly with respect to hosting women on visiting teams."
“It is unacceptable that women who are traveling as part of the visiting team are not afforded accommodations that permit them to do their jobs at the same level as their male colleagues and counterparts. Many clubs’ female facilities fall embarrassingly below the high standards befitting a member of a visiting traveling party of a major league organization. They also create an untenable working environment for women, some of whom are now choosing to not travel to certain cities with their club on the road."
Women continue to break barriers in Major League Baseball, with San Francisco Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken becoming the first woman hired as an on-field coach earlier this year and Miami Marlins executive Kim Ng becoming the first woman hired as general manager in 2021.
Hill wrote that clubs failing to provide appropriate workplace accommodations, "directly deprive women of equal access to participate in our great game, and discourage qualified women from participating in baseball roles traditionally held by men."