Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | February 17, 2020 | wbjournal.com 100 A June St. Worcester, MA 01602 508.310.5406 www.bestprollc.com Cleaning for Health From office cleaning and floor waxing to carpet cleaning and all types of professional cleaning services, BestPro Cleaning has the resources and expertise to get your office cleaning done right. Whether you require daily, weekly or monthly cleaning services or just a one-time cleaning, BestPro Cleaning will customize a cleaning service program to suit your individual needs and budget. General Manager, Diana Gallego Commercial Cleaning Office Cleaning Janitorial Services Family Owned Serving Massachusetts Since 1998 General Cleaning Carpet Cleaning Floor Care Eco-Friendly Green Cleaning Services Facility Maintenance (landscaping, snow removal, and light construction repairs) F O C U S W O M E N I N L E A D E R S H I P e number of so-called zero-zero firms – those with no female executives or board members – has fallen from six noted in the original Boardroom Gap report in 2018 to two this year. One former zero-zero, the Southbor- ough information technology firm Vir- tusa, has a female director in Deborah Hopkins, the founder and CEO of Citi Ventures in New York and Citi's first chief innovation officer. Few of the area's largest and most high-profile institutions are led by wom- en – nine of the 75 this year, down from 12 in 2019. A few employers changed from male- led to female-led or vice versa. Saint Vincent Hospital, previously led by CEO Jeffrey Welch, is now headed by Carolyn Jackson. Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tus Univer- sity in Graon is now male-led, with Alastair Cribb succeeding Joyce Knoll. e YMCA of Central Massachusetts in Worcester is now led by David Connell, who replaced Kathryn Hunter in 2019. Progress locally and beyond Women are just as outnumbered in positions of power at public companies across Massachusetts and the largest Corp. Jean Beaupre, a marketing and communications professor at Nichols College in Dudley, sees data as generally leveling off. Unconscious bias is still too oen an issue, she said, keeping women closed off from jobs when those making decisions on hiring envision only a man for a certain role. "Stereotypes are slow to change," said Beaupre, Nichols' faculty advisor to the school's Institute for Women's Lead- ership. "You're seeing that come about now." Still, it remains easy enough for com- panies of any size to put in place fam- ily-friendly policies, tweak vocabulary in job descriptions, or even strip gender identifiers from applications. firms nationally. In each case of those three geographic measurements, women make up about 6% of CEOs, and in the low- to mid-20s in share of board seats. S&P 500 com- panies, a group including the country's largest public firms, have women in 27% of their executive positions, a rate out- pacing both the Central Massachusetts and Massachusetts figures in total. Statewide, there are signs of progress. e number of zero-zero firms among the 100 largest public companies – once 35 of 100 in 2003 – is down to just one. Among those who have women in at least 30% of their board seats are six Central Massachusetts firms: Boston Scientific, Hanover Insurance Group, Hologic, Insulet, TJX Cos. and Waters Continued from Page 9 W At the 16 public companies in Central Mass., women are vastly outnumbered in positions of power, but that puts the region roughly in line with state and national averages. Central Mass. vs. state & nation Central Mass. Massachusetts United States CEOs 6.3% 6.0% 5.8% Executives 16.1% 16.3% 26.5% Board members 23.7% 24.0% 21.2% Sources: Central Massachusetts figures: Securities and Exchange Commission. Massachusetts figures: 100 largest public companies, as analyzed by The Boston Club. National figures: S&P 500, as analyzed by Catalyst.org. "I don't see any reason why even a small business can't set a goal to have more diversity in their workforce and put measures in place to make that hap- pen," Beaupre said. Catalyst, a New York nonprofit advo- cating for women in business, has seen similar slow progress nationally. Among S&P 500 companies, wom- en were found by Catalyst to make up smaller and smaller shares of staffing as a worker climbs the corporate ladder. Women comprise 37% of mid-level managers but 21% of board seats and 6% of CEOs. e rate of those shrinking numbers has barely changed with time, said Serena Fong, Catalyst's vice president for strategic engagement. "It's too slow for what we'd like to see," Fong said. "e pace has been glacial, unfortunately." One trend has been encouraging, Fong said: More recognition for why there should be more diversity. at's seen as a sign more leaders are giving up on old notions about leaders having to look a certain way or have a particular background. "I like to flip it around," she said, "and say, 'Give me the case for keeping it the same, for keeping it old, white and male.'"

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