Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 17, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 25 Changing the power dynamic V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L I n this edition, for the third year in a row, Worcester Business Journal takes a deep dive into some of the thornier issues Central Massachusetts professional women face in the workplace, a follow up to News Editor Grant Welker's e Boardroom Gap investigation into the lack of gender diversity among the region's business leadership. is year feels different, though, especially with the inclusion of reporter Sarah Connell's "Disrespected" story on the sexual harassment women face in the workplace, an article made possible by seven brave women who put themselves and their experiences on the record. Sexual harassment is, unfortunately, nothing new, but now with so many people willing to give voice against these aggressions, the current level of awareness of the problem feels beyond any cultural moment. And awareness can lead to solutions, even if it feels like it's taken far too long. e stories by Welker (pages 8-13) and Connell (pages 14-18) expose a tangible level of inequality. With women making up 49% of the Worcester County workforce, it is absurd they hold just 34% of executive and board seats at 75 prominent Central Massachusetts business organizations. Even more absurd is the fact, still, too many women in professional settings are forced to choose between their self-respect and their career. ese situations create power disparities, which can in turn make for toxic business environments, and reinforce the uneven playing field denying equal opportunities to all. While we hope the number of women who experience sexual harassment is way down from where it was in the past, it's still out there regardless, and it's a problem everyone must deal with. In our original Boardroom Gap series in 2018, Welker wrote how companies with greater gender diversity in their leadership ranks tended to have higher profits and fewer issues with sexual harassment, according to a 2016 study by Swiss financial institution Credit Suisse. If we work to correct the power imbalance, harassment problems may decline. e time may have come for Massachusetts to consider adopting a law similar to ones in California and Western Europe, either requiring or recommending public companies have a certain number of women on their boards of directors. Proposals like this have kicked around the Massachusetts legislature before and never really gained any popular support. While few want the government making personnel decisions at their businesses, the progress we've seen in getting equal representation of women in Central Mass. leadership positions has been too slow, and perhaps a legislative push can help bring the needed culture change. Starting with a non- binding resolution recommending more inclusion would be a positive first step; but if that fell short of spurning meaningful change, something with more teeth would be needed. While it's great to think we've made progress of late, the truth is we've got a long way to go. And we think change will not only be just, but good for business. Just ask the companies with a healthy number of women leaders. The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Brad Kane, editor, at bkane@wbjournal.com. A T H O U SA N D WO R D S B Y D O N L A N D G R E N W Greater Worcester nonprofits need female leaders of color T wo years ago, when I was asked by WBJ to write about the diversity among women in leadership roles, two women of color led Fortune 500 companies. Last year, there were none. While I was dismayed with that fact, I was energized on how the political field had changed, and, I found an inspiring SHero in profes- sional sports. For this article, I again checked the Fortune 500. Besides the interim placement of Mary Winton as CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond (she was replaced by a man in October), no women of color leads a Fortune 500. Since I didn't see any progress on a national, corporate level, I decided to look locally at nonprofits. With Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, the magazine Nonprofit Quarterly has been tracking the national trend and started foreshadowing the upcoming departures of nonprofit CEOs. In 2019, five female nonprofit leaders retired in Worcester, and not one was replaced by a woman of color (To be fair, Community Healthlink in January appointed Tamara Lundi as interim CEO). How can a city as diverse as ours and a sector serving to support all communities not find one woman of color for these opportunities? What does that say to the people they serve? Yes, we have recently seen progress in nonprofit gov- ernance by way of boards (the Greater Worcester Commu- nity Foundation and Mechanics Hall both named women of color to lead their board of directors) but it's not enough. e Building Movement Project's report Race to Lead: Women of Color in the Nonprofit Sector says "persistent bias continues to hold back women of color from rising up the nonprofit career ladder." Key findings include: • Qualifications are not a factor as all respondents had similar years of experience and backgrounds in education. • It is not based on a lack of aspirations as more women of color responded they were interested in leadership positions as compared to their white male and female counterparts. • Women of color lack representation, and systems are in place to make it harder for women of color to move up. People from all races reported the lack of representation in leadership roles is a structural problem and biases and stereotypes hinder progress. As someone who aspires to always be a leader my family and colleagues can be proud of and who girls can look up to, I find this report and the lack of women of color in nonprof- it leadership roles within Greater Worcester troubling. I feel and have lived these tribulations to the point where they impede my productivity, but I will keep going. An interest- ing finding from the report was 63% of women of color seek mentors outside of work. I'm fortunate to have a great group of peers who know that liing each other up will only help make our world a better place. And it's even better when you include the younger generation. Melanie Bonsu is the director of development & marketing/communications for the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts. BY MELANIE BONSU Special to the Worcester Business Journal Melanie Bonsu W

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