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wbjournal.com | February 18, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 15 Women's Initiative supports programs that improve girls' lives while building the next generation of women leaders. Strengthening Girls. Empowering Women. Become a member and make a difference! www.unitedwaycm.org W O M E N I N L E A D E R S H I P F O C U S public-policy initiatives," she said. State bills could bring more change. State Sen. Jason Lewis (D-Winchester) has filed a bill to require any Massachu- setts public company to have at least one female board member by 2023 or be subject to fines of up to $100,000. State Rep. Elizabeth Malia (D-Boston) has filed legislation requiring companies with 100-plus employees to report their gender ratio among leadership. e re- sults would be posted publicly each year. "ere's a drumbeat here of construc- tive things and more pressure on compa- nies to take the initiative to solve the problems instead of having to legislate or shame employers into doing something," said Evelyn Murphy a co-chair of the Boston Women's Workforce Council. Murphy credited a growing list of organizations publishing data-driven reports on gender equality, including the state's Eos Foundation and the Commonwealth Institute, for increasing transparency on the issue. "e exposure forces executives to say, 'Wait a minute,'" she said, "'We want to do something. We're the good guys.'" The percentage of women in Central Mass. nonprofit leadership positions compares better to the state and nation than Central Mass. public companies. Central Mass. vs state & nation Public companies Central Mass. Massachusetts U.S. CEOs 5.5% 5.3% 4.8% Board seats 19.5% 21.0% 21.2% Executives 11.8% 14.1% 26.5% Nonprofits Central Mass. Massachusetts U.S. CEOs 33.3% 23.0% 72.0% Board seats 48.2% 36.0% 48.0% Nonprofits do not include colleges and hospitals. Massachusetts nonprofit data is through a biennial report; data is repeated from last year. Sources: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, entities' websites and 990 filings (Central Massachusetts institutions), The Boston Club (Massachusetts public companies), Massachusetts Women's Leadership Index (Massachusetts nonprofit institutions), Catalyst.org (national public companies), BoardSource (national nonprofit CEOs and board seats). W