Watching the United States Olympic team during the 2012 London Olympics was like watching a history lesson in action. It was apparent that the U.S. team was as diverse as the country’s population, reflecting decades of generous immigration policies. There were team members representing a rich variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds, men and women, and various age groups.

It would be nice if there was time to interview each U.S. team member concerning their backgrounds. The stories would surely be inspirational and prove that people will excel when given equal opportunities to compete. Women and men do not need to be the same color or have grandparents who come from the same country to be successful. What they need is access, and the Olympics are proof.

For the first time, three African-Americans were on the U.S. men’s swim team, a Cuban-American joined the men’s gymnastics team, and women outnumbered men in total. The diverse team members excelled too. Lia Neal won a Bronze Medal as the first African-American to swim in an Olympic final. Gabby Douglas, a 17-year-old African-American, won the women’s individual all-around Gold. Cuban-American DanellLeyva won a Bronze Medal in men’s gymnastics, and it was also the only medal earned by the men’s U.S. gymnastics team. Ryan Lochte, also of Cuban descent, won five medals in swimming. LeonelManzano was brought to the U.S. illegally at the age of four, but earned his citizenship years ago and recently earned a Silver Medal for the 1,500 meter final in London. The U.S. women’s basketball team has won five straight Olympic Gold Medals (seven Gold in total). In fact, U.S. women out-medalled U.S. men.

There is a message in these successes for women and minority owned businesses. You have to give people opportunities in the first place before these stories can unfold. The incredible success of the U.S. women’s teams just happens to fall on the 40th anniversary of the passage of Title IX legislation, requiring that women have equal access to college sports programs. The increased access is now coming-of-age in women’s competitive sports. Women compete in traditional sports like swimming and gymnastics, but they also compete in boxing, BMX racing, water polo and skeet shooting, among other sports.

Title IX opened doors and gave women access to sports, but also set a new standard for access. Now everyone was invited to participate, and minorities found they also were more likely to enter sports traditionally under-utilized. African Americans swimmer Lia Neal and tennis player Serena Williams, and Mexican-American boxer Marlen Esparza are three good examples. Diana Taurisa was born to an Italian father and an Argentinean mother and is lauded as one of the team members who inspired the U.S. basketball team to achieve greatness.

Even with Title IX, there is still a long way to go. Women are not participating in every event, and you can be assured it is only because of lack of access. The question is: How many budding athletes will not get an opportunity to compete because they are denied access to events at which they would excel? That is the kind of question a business must ask itself. Which talented workers are not being given access to opportunities? There is a good chance your business has gold medal staff members who do not get to compete in the medal race. They are not included on project teams, are not given equal opportunity to advance, are not provided the training and development needed to improve, and are unable to work alongside those who have already succeeded.

Olympic teams work together for a common purpose, which is to make the country proud. In doing so, they must showcase their unique abilities. Staff members must have the same attitude towards their roles as members of business teams, but it requires giving everyone access. It is impossible to help a team win if you are not allowed to play.