On November 13, the Miami Marlins broke a baseball gender barrier that had been longing to be torn down. Two weeks ago, 51-year-old Kim Ng was named General Manager of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team. With an extensive resume and 30 years of experience, she will be the first female General Manager for a major league team. Ng started her work with the league as an intern for the Chicago White Sox in 1990. She continued to work her way up, earning senior positions with the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers for a total of 13 years; during these years, both teams reached the postseason. For the past nine years, Ng was the Senior Vice President of baseball operations, “when she was the highest-ranking Asian American female baseball executive” according to ESPN. 

Aside from baseball, Ng broke an even larger barrier as she is the first woman to become a General Manager in any of the four major men’s sports leagues in North America. Ng knew that she wanted a career in a sport dominated by men, specifically white men. Ng is believed to be the second person of Asian descent to lead a team, which further intensifies this milestone in MLB history. “This challenge is one I don’t take lightly,” Ng mentioned in a statement released by the team. 

The Marlins’ announcement to hire Ng will change the sports industry forever. “This is not just a baseball move, this is a generational move,” says Dan Evans, the man who first hired Ng as an intern in 1990. Now, women are entering the sports industry more than ever before. Several other women are moving up the ranks of the MLB as others are becoming more dominant in the football and basketball industries. While Ng will be responsible for making trades, negotiating contracts, running the team’s draft, and managing its moves in free agency, she will serve as a role model to young girls and women, giving them hope that one day, a role in the sports industry could be theirs.