Worcester Business Journal

12 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 solo in a team, this really makes it difficult for them," said Laura Graves, a management professor at Clark University in Worcester. "ey are much more likely to be harassed and much more likely to be stereotyped." ese barriers contribute to pay disparities, keeping women out of higher-paying executive roles. While women make up a minority of leadership positions, they fill nearly two-thirds of all tipped positions in Massachusetts, according to a 2019 report from the National Women's Law Center. In e Boardroom Gap's examination of 301 executives' compensation in Central Massachusetts, WBJ found about a third of the region's highest-paid executives are women. Even in sectors like education where there is almost an equal number of men and women in highest-paid positions, female executives make $13,043 less per year than their male counterparts. Majority-female industries, led by men Rodriguez, the owner of Nuestra, has worked in the hospitality industry since she was 16, but broke out on her own, aer decades of toiling in an industry where most head chefs are men. "If I didn't have a strong personality and I didn't have the confidence and posture that I have, I feel I would be chewed up and people would walk all over me," she said. While more than 68% of food industry servers are female, women make up only 23% of head chefs, according to BLS. In Central Massachusetts, nonprofits, education, and healthcare have the highest rates of women in leadership, but – like the hospitality industry – the figures pale in comparison to the amount of female workers. While 77% of Mass. healthcare workers are women, they only make up 38% of healthcare leadership in Central Massachusetts, according to e Boardroom Gap findings. In higher education nationally, 60% of professionals are women, according to the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. Yet, in Central Massachusetts, 40% of college executives and board of trustees members are women. Of the 15 colleges based in Central Massachusetts, three have female presidents, and two of those are leaving at the end of the spring semester. Barriers, seen & unseen Women face a number of barriers to advancement, ranging from biases at the workplace to increased childcare and household responsibilities. Working doubly hard for respect is common among women trying to break into leadership roles, said Graves, the Clark professor. Women are frequently stereotyped within the workplace, and those gender biases become more prevalent when employees and employers are stratified by gender. "As there is this distinction between who's in the lower roles and who's in the upper roles, then gender stereotypes are really going to come into play," she said. "e fact that men are more represented at the top and women are represented in these lower-paid jobs exacerbates the likelihood that people are going to use The 2022 Central Mass. executive pay gap WBJ examined the total compensation for 301 executives in four different sectors across Central Massachusetts, finding women are outnumbered by men in the higher-paying positions at their organizations. No women are the top earners for their industries. Median male pay Median female pay Public companies $2,220,176 $2,586,536 (66 men, 6 women) Top three highest paid: 1. Lee Delaney, former president and CEO, BJ's Wholesale Club, $16,157,250 1. Carol Meyrowitz, executive chair, TJX Corp., $7,983,510 2. Ernie Herrman, president and CEO, The TJX Cos., $14,541,737 2. Sheila DiPalma, executive vice president, Cognex Corp., $4,369,770 3. Stephen MacMillan, president and CEO, Hologic Corp., $14,125,674 3. Karleen Oberton, CFO, Hologic Corp., $3,137,407 Healthcare organizations $328,927 $380,179 (43 men, 28 women) Top three highest paid: 1. Ed Moore, president and CEO, Harrington Hospital, $2,720,845 1. Michele Streeter, executive vice president and COO, UMass Memorial Medical Group, $724,641 2. Eric Dickson, president and CEO, UMass Memorial Health, $2,430,342 2. Deborah Weymouth, former president, UMass Memorial HealthAlliance- Clinton Hospital, $627,826 3. Sergio Melgar, CFO, UMass Memorial Health, $1,327,702 3. Kate Eshghi, senior vice president and general counsel, UMass Memorial Health, $581,301 Colleges $227,080 $214,037 (63 men, 54 women) Top three highest paid: 1. Charles Monahan, former president, MCPHS University, $1,760,840 1. Laurie Leshin, president, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, $1,530,565 2. Michael Collins, chancellor, UMass Chan Medical School, $1,349,109 2. Paula Rooney, president, Dean College, $934,662 3. Richard Lessard, president, MCPHS University, $1,276,987 3. Kristin Tichenor, former senior vice president for enrollment, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, $677,314 Social service nonprofits $225,466 $169,336 (25 men, 16 women) Top three highest paid: 1. Joseph Tosches, former executive vice president and COO, 1. Kathleen Jordan, executive VP and CEO, Seven Hills Foundation, $391,798 Seven Hills Foundation, $991,501 2. David Jordan, president, Seven Hills Foundation, $903,136 2. Catherine Welch, executive director Southborough, The New England Center for Children, $341,097 3. Vincent Strully, president and CEO, The New England Center for 3. Judy Cunniff-Serio, COO, The New England Center for Children, $328,148 Children, $601,392 Note: All are for the most recent year available. Source: Securities and Exchange Commission, Internal Revenue Service 990 forms, as reported through ProPublica and Candid by Guidestar Central Mass. vs. state & nation Central Mass. Mass. U.S. CEOs 6% 6% 6% Executives 24% 21% 12% Board members 28% 28% 30% Sources: Central Mass. companies: Securities and Exchange Commission; Massachusetts: 100 largest companies as analyzed by The Boston Club; United States: S&P 500 as analyzed by Catalyst and Spencer Suart, as well as a separate report by Morningstar At its public companies, Central Massachusetts is tied with or leads the state and national averages in business leadership. When WBJ started The Boardroom Gap investigation in 2018, the region trailed the state and nation in all metrics. Continued from page 10

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