Diversity has been a looming issue in the baseball world since its infancy. One particular diversity concern that has gained attention over the last several weeks is the representation of women in front offices, in coaching positions, and even in management roles.

As of recently, teams seem to be making strides in giving women a seat at the table and an opportunity to make their mark. Since Friday, the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs have each hired a female to join their coaching staff. This marks historic moments for both organizations and a step in the right direction for inclusivity and acquisitions of incredible talent in the industry.

On Friday, the Yankees announced that Rachel Balkovec will be serving as a full-time minor league hitting coach. Balkovec is the first female, full-time hitting coach to be hired by a major league organization. Prior to her historic hiring, she worked as the Latin American strength and conditioning coach for the Houston Astros in 2016. This was when she met Yankees’ hitting coordinator Dillon Lawson, who also worked with the Astros at that time.

In an interview with the New York Times, Lawson made it a point to say Balkovec is “a good hitting coach, and a good coach, period.”

The Yankees have been known to trailblaze in their hiring of females in leadership roles, as they appointed Jean Afterman as their assistant general manager in 2001. With almost two decades of female leadership under the organization’s belt, the Yankees have proven themselves as an example of what successful organizations with women can look like.

Also on Friday, the Cubs announced eight new hires to their minor league hitting staff. One hire, in particular, was Rachel Folden, who will serve as the team’s lead hitting lab tech. She will also be the fourth coach for the Cubs’ Arizona League team.

Folden, a former fastpitch softball league star, founded her own business. Her business, Folden Fastpitch, provides softball and baseball training with biomechanics, data, and technology. She is now the first woman on the Cubs’ coaching staff in franchise history.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, she said, “Honestly, I think it should have happened a while ago.”

It seems Justin Stone, who is leading the Cubs’ hitting operations, would agree with that sentiment, as he claimed that “if [Folden] were a guy, she would already be a big-league hitting coach.”

Over the last few years, especially, there have been talks about Major League Baseball as a whole working harder to address the gender problem in its front offices.

As of their 2018 gender report card, however, the league only earned a C. Reports from that year showed that only 188 women were employed across all of Major League Baseball and its minor league teams. This includes everything from operations, scouting positions, data-related positions, contract negotiation roles, and even jobs in the commissioner’s office.

Although baseball still has quite a way to go in terms of harnessing female talent in both coaching and operations roles, key hires have been made that demonstrate a more progressive outlook on the sport.

Earlier this year, the New York Mets hired Olympic softball player-turned-ESPN announcer Jessica Mendoza as an operations manager for general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. Mendoza’s duties include player evaluation and roster construction, to name a few. The Mets considered this a great investment in their intellectual capital for the organization.

The league is working to bring in more women into roles like this through programs like Take The Field, a two-day event hosted by the MLB Diversity and Inclusion Department. The event focuses on areas of interest like coaching, scouting, training, and umpiring. This can inspire and refine talent for women who wish to pursue careers in baseball, either on or off the field.

This cannot and should not be where it ends. Women in these roles have shown that they deserve a seat at the table. If a woman is capable and can prove that she is able to do the job and do it well, there is no reason she shouldn’t be given the same opportunities to utilize her talents.

MLB is making strides in welcoming passionate and talented women into positions in the sport, not just checking a box to fulfill a quota. Although it is a slow-moving process, trends are showing that the league and its teams have become – and will continue to be – more open with their hiring choices.