Captain Kirk and the Ski Industry

Things were looking up on a recent Aspen morning

For purposes of modern jurisprudence, I am the creator of a theory known as “Star Trek Diversity”. It’s very well known as a tool of workplace analysis – well, OK, it’s gotten a lot of giggles and approving nods among my friends and family over the years. Justifiably, Star Trek is highly regarded for having had the first interracial kiss on American television and for the relatively egalitarian way in which the show’s characters interacted. The crew of the Starship Enterprise was remarkably diverse for its time - or was it? The principle of Star Trek Diversity is that the crew of the Starship Enterprise actually represented a benign, albeit thorough-going, exercise in stereotyping. Think about it: the weapons officers and navigators were Japanese and Russian; the chief engineer was a Scottish ship builder; the medical officer was a drunk Irish doctor; the science guy had no emotions; the nurse was tall and blonde; a black woman answered the phones; and the captain of the ship was the white protestant man in charge. My running joke is that had there been a ship’s bursar, jeweler or dentist, it would have been a Jew.


Although I do mean the concept of Star Trek Diversity to be funny, it’s also intended to be a warning. That warning, subtle though it is when I kid around about it, is also vitally important to the ski industry and to those of us who work in it. We have a diversity gap: gender, racial, ethnic, and religious diversity in the ski industry simply lags behind our nation generally, both among our staff and our guests. The real problem is that many of the people working in the industry look around and see people of all stripes, so to speak. “There are lots of women who work here,” in traditionally female roles. “We have a lot of Latinos on the resort staff,” especially in the kitchens. “I actually know a couple of black ski instructors,” who I think I met once. And Jews? I actually know the other two full-cert mishpocha in the Eastern Division of PSIA. There’s no news here, of course, and we are making progress as an industry.


Thankfully, in Aspen Snowmass I work for a remarkably gifted group of supervisors and managers. Many of them happen to be women, each of whom is exceptionally qualified, highly effective at their work, and a pleasure to work with and for. None would be mistaken for someone who achieved their status because of what they are instead of who and how good they are. They all received, keep, and succeed at their roles in the company on the merits. It’s wonderful, and it’s rare. In addition, I am incredibly fortunate to have been mentored through my ski career by several long-time coaches and instructors who spent equal amounts of time banging their heads against the glass gender ceiling as they did working hard to help me progress as a pro. Unfortunately, there are too many people in our industry – men and women - who have been elevated to positions of responsibility for which they are not qualified or skilled because of what they are, and because of how what they are makes senior people feel about themselves. A bit like James T. Kirk with the tall white nurse and the black communications officer.


Progress is slow and progress is hard. If we keep our eyes on what’s really important and focus on each incremental step, progress can be meaningful. In the end of the analysis, it’s helpful to remember that Lieutenant Uhura was a Starfleet officer at a time when African American women had few professional role models in the media. I did some reading about the character to shore up some details and found out that the actress who played the Lieutenant, Nichelle Nichols, had planned to leave the show after its first season but changed her mind after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dissuaded her. Yes, that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! Apparently, Dr. King was a fan of Ms. Nichols and of the show and told her “You are our image of where we’re going, you’re 300 years from now … You are our inspiration.” Star Trek was the only television show that Dr. Martin Luther King and Corretta King let their young children watch in large part because of her example.


We have a long way to go and I do stand by my theory of Star Trek Diversity as a warning. Still, if Dr. King gained confidence from Lieutenant Uhura, so can I. Besides, Lieutenant Uhura kicked some serious ass and never hesitated to put the rest of the crew in their place, and I definitely need managers like that to keep me in line.