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12 Worcester Business Journal | February 18, 2019 | wbjournal.com Continued on Page 14 Narrowing The Boardroom Gap BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor In a follow-up to its 2018 investigation, WBJ found Central Mass. businesses slightly improved their inclusion of women in leadership F O C U S W O M E N I N L E A D E R S H I P T he national gender diversity advocacy group Catalyst uses a pyramid to illus- trate how women work in ever-shrinking numbers the further up the company ladder they go. As a woman might rise to middle management, upper management and perhaps to a board of directors or even CEO, she's likely in an almost exclusively male-dominated environment. She may be the tip of the pyramid and be the only woman in the room. e pyramid Catalyst describes wouldn't tell the tale at Worcester insur- er Fallon Health. More than 80 percent of the nearly 900 employees at Fallon's offices are female. at extends to more than 70 percent in management. Richard Burke, Fallon's president and CEO since 2015, has made sure gender diversity extends to the insurer's executive team, as well. Five of Fallon's 10 executives are female, including two hired in the past year who replaced male predecessors. To Burke, having an equal number of women in leadership provides an exam- ple to the company's broader workforce, even as he continues seeking the best candidates no matter the gender. "Talent is gender-neutral," Burke said. ese efforts made by Fallon are illus- trative of the small step forward taken by Central Massachusetts business lead- ership in the last year to become more female inclusive. As a follow-up to its e Boardroom Gap series from February 2018, the Worcester Busi- ness Journal has combed through nearly 1,600 names of directors and executives at 75 Central Massachusetts public and private companies, col- leges, hospitals, financial institutions and social service nonprof- its to gauge the mix of men and women in their positions of power. Among all those entities, women made up 35 percent – up from 33 per- cent last year – of executive suites and boards of directors. Women continue to be vastly out- numbered by men at Central Mass. pub- lic companies, at lower percentages than state and national averages. ose ranks include four so-called zero-zeros in the shaming parlance of gender diversity advocates: companies with no women in board or executive positions. Ayer energy systems manufacturer AMSC, Athol tool maker L.S. Starrett, Acton drug testing firm Psychemedics and Southborough information technology firm Virtusa were the public companies with that distinction this year. Women made up one-fourth or less of power positions at 22 financial institutions and private companies. e proportion between men and wom- en was better in health care – a more female-dominated industry overall – where women made up 32 percent of leadership positions, and in higher education, where the rate was 39 percent. Only social service nonprofits had at least an even number of women, a total skewed by the YWCA of Central Massachu- setts, where all 30 of its board members are female. Women are still far out- numbered by men in top administrative roles, such as CEO, president or executive director. Only 12 of the 75 institutions analyzed by WBJ are led by a woman, an increase from nine last year. "I would not expect the needle to move much in one year," said Danna Greenberg, a professor of organizational behavior at Babson College in Wellesley who closely studies gender diversity. "Gender inequity will take years to re- balance, and it takes persistent work on the part of researchers and journalists to get the attention of companies and poli- cymakers to support change," she said. Notably, three Central Mass. institu- tions in the past year appointed a female leader to replace a male predecessor. Insulet, an Acton medical device com- pany, promoted Shacey Petrovic to CEO last month. At the Boys & Girls Club of MetroWest, Chris Duane was promoted to president. Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester named Ava Jo Collins its interim CEO, which the hospital said appears to be its first ever female leader. Small steps of progress Like Fallon, other Central Massachu- setts organizations have increased gen- der diversity when opportunities arose. Cognex, a Natick manufacturer, ap- pointed a female director last February, and promoted a woman to a senior vice president role. Both are firsts for the company since at least 1995, according to Cognex's filings with the U.S. Securi- ties & Exchange Commission. Milford manufacturer Waters Corp. hired its second top-level female exec- utive in the past 18 years in 2017 when it replaced its departed male CFO with a woman. e firm cited other actions it took, including launching a gender diversity network, unconscious bias training and hosting a diversity event. Among social services nonprofits – where women are already more likely to find themselves at the boardroom table – steps were taken to move further ahead. At the United Way of North Central Massachusetts, six of eight newly ap- pointed members are women, while the United Way of Central Massachusetts in Worcester appointed a female board president last year. e Boys & Girls Club of Worcester appointed a female executive to replace a male. Open Sky Community Services, a Worcester social services nonprofit formed last year following the merger of Alternatives Unlimited and e Bridge of Central Massachusetts, has women in half of its top executive roles and board seats, and for 16 of its 22 top managers. Ken Bates, Open Sky's president and CEO, said the high rate of women in leadership roles reflects the agency's pre- dominantly female 1,300 employees. "We're a very diverse organization to begin with, and a diversity of viewpoints helps us around the table," Bates said. "It helps make us better and have more thoughtful decisions." Missed opportunities Not a lot of turnover exists in the span of a year or two, but several entities – particularly those with few, if any, women in leading roles – missed oppor- tunities to diversify their upper ranks. Holliston biotech firm Biostage appointed a female board member last November, its first since at least 2014, but five of six new board members add- ed over the year are male. At soware company SeaChange International, two men le the board in 2017 and were replaced by two other men. "A lot of it is, they're happy where they are," Susan Adams, who teaches Worcester insurer Fallon Health grew the percentage of women in its leadership from 32 to 40 in the last year. Its executive suite now includes (from left) Chief Communications Officer Christine Cassidy, Chief Medical Officer Carolyn Langer, Chief Operating Officer Emily West, Chief Sales Officer Mary Ritter and Chief Human Resources Officer Jill Lebow. PHOTO/MATT WRIGHT The Boardroom Gap FIRST IN A 3-PART SERIES