Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | February 7, 2022 | wbjournal.com F O C U S W O M E N I N L E A D E R S H I P We provide trusted resources, a strong business network and a support system to keep your business and the region moving forward. We are the resource you can rely on at northcentralmass.com The Chamber is counsel. bigger platform right now," said Katie Murphy, president of the MNA. e coronavirus pandemic has played an instrumental role in widening that platform, said Murphy, as women and people of color make up the majority of work considered frontline in the pandemic. Women make up 75% of health and education workers and 51% of hospitality workers, according to the most recent data from BLS. In a phenomenon known as the Shecession, millions of women have le the workforce since COVID-19 first struck, with female employment rate 5.7% lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to an October report from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. is drop created a labor shortage in female-dominated industries like health care, making women workers less replaceable and providing more leverage for women to make labor demands, and an opportunity for unions to make those demands on behalf of workers. "We've seen that corporations are more than willing to throw their frontline workers out there and not take responsibility for making as safe of an environment as possible," Murphy said. is turned the tables on the worker- employer relationship, said Najimy from the teachers union. Before they were considered essential workers, women-dominated industries have faced substantial challenges in getting their voices heard. "Women's work is predominantly cares work," said Najimy, referring to the large percentage of women in healthcare and education. "It's the system of powers we work under [that] are largely dominated by men and white men that disrespect women, that disrespect their labor, and that actually disrespect cares work." e MTA's most recent endeavors have focused on upliing education support professionals, specifically paraprofessionals in schools. Over the past year in Shrewsbury, paras have rallied for a contract to raise their wages. "Traditionally, maybe we felt that our voices weren't as loud, but I think when we have to stand up and be counted, people do," said Murphy. Women should occupy more leadership positions Should businesses strive to have roughly equal gender diversity in their leadership? For the last five years, WBJ has performed The Boardroom Gap investigation, examining the gender breakdown among leadership at 75 prominent Central Massachusetts business organizations. In the first years, the investigation found the region trailed state and national averages in having women in top executive and board roles. In the ensuing years, gender diversity in Central Mass. business leadership has improved, although women still occupy less than 40% of top positions. When polled online, 58% of WBJ readers said the gender breakdown of business leadership should be a 50/50 split or reflect the employee/customer base. F L AS H P O L L Yes, women and men should each occupy roughly 50% of top positions. 18% No, but companies should strive to have at least one woman in executive ranks. 1% Yes, leadership should reflect the makeup of the employee and/or customer base. 40% No, the most qualified people should get the top jobs, regardless of the gender breakdown. 41% "No, it doesn't make any difference regarding gender. Are you looking to start a war?" "My personal soap box issue is to introduce the worker's voice to boards beyond what is sometimes required by collective bargaining agreements. Many countries around the world legally require worker representation as part of good governance." COMMENTS: W Continued from page 15

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