Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 8, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 21 Working families need business support V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L I n a year with a lot of bad news, we have some good to share. e percent of women in leadership positions at 75 prominent Central Massachusetts business organizations hit its highest level in the four years WBJ has done its Boardroom Gap investigation. e number even ticked up three percentage points in the last year, which is impressive given how little turnover there tends to be in leadership positions. While the ultimate goal to attain equity may be when the number nears 50/50, having 37% of these top jobs held by women shows an increasing number of organizations and leaders recognize the importance of having diverse voices and backgrounds in decision-making positions. A number of studies have shown companies with gender and ethnically diverse leadership tend to perform better, such as the 2017 McKinsey & Co. report saying companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on corporate teams are 21% more likely to outperform on profitability and 27% more likely to have better value creation. Will this trend continue? It looks murky. On top of all the other short- and long-term problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, turnover in the workforce has disproportionately affected women, who are more likely to work in industries heavily impacted by the crisis; and they are more likely than men to leave their jobs to take care of their increased family needs. While the job losses will likely have less impact on those top achieving women who hold C-suite positions, or even the women just below them in the senior ranks, the pandemic may well cause a disruption in the talent pipeline. An impact in the pipeline of capable younger women in the workforce can serve to interrupt the progress we've seen. There is time to help rectify this problem, although it will take a cultural shift in business and government support for families, particularly working mothers. Massachusetts this year launched its new paid family medical leave law, designed to provide paid time off for professionals to take care of newborn children or sick family members. Although the full impact of the legislation is at least a year away as the funding pool grows, the expectation is this law will help keep more women from exiting the workforce and interrupting their ascent up the career ladder. Another step to help women stay in the career track would be better child care support. Old Sturbridge Village, in a move to hold onto its specially trained staff during the pandemic, set up a child care center where employees' children could do their virtual schooling. Not every company can take this big a step, but other measures and supports can help workers not have to choose between child care and their jobs. Businesses can offer subsidies for child care, be more flexible on their workers' schedules, offer back-up emergency child care assistance for snow days or sick days, and/or have flexible spending accounts (FSAs) through their healthcare provider, which parents can spend on child care. None of this will come cheap, and we're a long way off from the near full employment we were experiencing in early 2020. But measures supporting women who desire to stay in their careers succeed will go a long way toward better diversity in business leadership. The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Brad Kane, editor, at bkane@wbjournal.com. Women must support women I t's my fourth year writing a submission for the WBJ's e Boardroom Gap investigative series. To prepare I cautiously started doing some research. In the "Women CEOS in America 2020 Report" published by e Women in Business Collaborative, an alliance of business women's organizations working to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women, things were looking up. e number of women leading Fortune 500 companies is at an historic high of 37. e Women in Business Collaborative published in its monthly "Women Joining Public Boards" showing in December, 107 women were appointed to public boards, an upward trend in the fourth quarter of 2020 with women comprising an average of 41% of public board appointees. Before I could let my excitement get the best of me, I dug deeper and realized only two CEOs on the Fortune 500 and only 28 public board appointees are women of color. I had flashbacks to writing about the concrete ceiling for e Boardroom Gap in 2018. Back in 2019, I was energized by women firsts in sports and the political landscape. While I am still motivated by Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, and even happier to see the Boston Red Sox making history with coach Bianca Smith, I am most inspired by our new vice president, Kamala Harris. I have always believed little girls can't be what they can't see; and now they can see a female in the second highest position in our country, and for little girls of color, it's a VP who looks like them. One of my happiest moments in the past few months (it's a pandemic we need to cherish moments of joy) was my college roommate texting me during the vice presidential debate to tell me then Senator Harris' facial expressions reminded him of me and how I deal with difficult people. at's probably what motivated me to agree when a friend asked if I would help with her local political campaign. On a nightly call with my candidate friend, her husband said, "I just want to thank you for all that you are doing for my wife. ere are times when women are not always as helpful to her as she works to progress in her career and life." Which got me thinking: Do we as women not always support each other? Are we the ones holding each other back? What happened to liing each other up? If we want to close the gap of women in leadership, we, as women, really need to support each other. It's easy and the right thing to do. Shop at a local female-owned business. If you're on a board, make sure to recommend women you know to the nominating committee. See a job opening as a perfect fit for a female acquaintance aligning with their career desire? Send it to them with an encouraging note. If you are in leadership, be open to mentoring a younger woman who is interested in your field. It could be an informal interview, a phone call, or a longer commitment. ese suggestions might come off as small, but will make a big difference to the women you are supporting. Melanie Bonsu is director of development & marketing for the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts. BY MELANIE BONSU Special to the Worcester Business Journal Melanie Bonsu W W "Of course they did." – Brian Saksa, Jan. 27, responding to Worcester City Council unanimously approving new borrowing of $14 million to cover the latest cost overruns at Polar Park baseball stadium "e garage and le field building have been started. Permits got pulled, and foundations and piles are being in- stalled." – Craig omas, Jan. 29, responding to work devel- opments for some of the facilities surrounding Polar Park baseball stadium "is is less than $30,000 per apartment ... Why can't we think of investing in properties like this to turn into first-time home buying or cooperatives for families that already live in Main South?" – Cara Berg Powers (@clbergpowers), Feb. 1, on a New Jersey trust buying a 47-unit building in Worcester's Main South neighborhood for $1 million "Have spent many aernoons and evenings at Breen's ... thank you @barstoolsports @stoolpresidente." – Kevin Blaney (@kblaney10), Jan. 29, on Barstool Sports providing bailouts to four struggling Central Mass. small businesses WO R D F R O M T H E W E B Facebook feedback Tweets of the Week

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