Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 5, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 37 What does a leader look like? V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L T he other day, I mentioned I was headed to a meet- ing with a fellow executive director. "Where are you meeting him?" my companion asked. "Her," I corrected. is perfectly well-inten- tioned exchange made me wonder: How do we instinctively envision directors, presidents, C-suite pro- fessionals – leaders? Are executives not only male in our mind's eye, but also white, clean-shaven, and wearing a suit? Do we picture them driving to meetings from suburbia in their shiny sedans streaming classic rock? In our imagination, do they have an Ivy League education or at least several degrees and certificates plastering their walls? Upon Google image searching "CEO" I found, out of the top 10 photos, six of them were white males, three were white females, and one was a light-skinned male of color. All were in dark business suits and, all but one were pictured either in a boardroom or a posh office. All 10 appeared to be able-bodied and around middle-age. Professional leaders are prescribed to look and act a certain way. ey do not have visible tattoos or pierc- ings, colorful hair, or creative outfits. Perhaps they live in certain zip codes and wear certain brands. ey are expected to conform not only through the things within their control like personal style but are judged by inte- gral elements such as race and gender. A Harvard Business study revealed more men named John are running companies (5.3%) than total wom- en with any name doing so (4.1%). Firms with CEOs named David outnumber women-led businesses (4.5%). Zippia research states 65.1% of leaders in the U.S. are white, 16.6% are Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% are Black, 4.9% are Asian, and a meager 0.6% are American Indian or Alaska Native. e same study claims only 5% of our nation's leaders are LGBTQIA+. Furthermore, every president of the United States, arguably the most visible leadership role in the country, has identified as male and all but one has been white. e median age of incoming U.S. presidents is 55 years. Society has ingrained these expectations into us so relentlessly some individuals can hardly picture themselves in a leadership role. While I have met many middle-aged white male leaders who I respect deeply, I know a great many people who look nothing like them yet are extremely talented. People who do not fit a tradi- tionally professional persona can be equally effective. We need to check our unconscious biases, certainly when we hire and promote, but also when it comes to our perception of leaders. Please don't assume my meet- ing with a fellow director is with a man. Don't make the presumption the edgy, ethnic, or gender-diverse person you encounter must be a bartender or an artist. Maybe they own a company, run a nonprofit, or are a leader in industry. You can learn something new from them. Julie Bowditch is executive director of nonprofit e CASA Project Worcester County. I n the two years since countless Central Massa- chusetts businesses pledged to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion at their organizations, it is increasingly apparent which ones have truly committed to the effort vs. those who were just putting out well-meaning statements in the wake of George Floyd's murder. As many firms have discovered, this is really hard work. Changing company culture takes time and persistence, especially with an issue as complex as institutional racism, and as you're trying to improve DEI at your organization, it must compete with other priorities for attention. In hiring for a position, for ex- ample, do you go with a very intelligent candidate with a different background and experience than the rest of your team - someone who will make your employee base more diverse and better in the long run - but will need more time and training to get up to speed for the job? Or do you go with the more seasoned candidate who doesn't contribute to diversity to your company's workforce, but can hit the ground running with a shorter anticipated ramp up time? Even for those organizations who have been able to infuse more people of different races, genders, eth- nicities, experiences, sexual orientations, and gender identities into their workforces, it is still a matter of us- ing that diversity to make your business stronger. DEI is more than a numbers game, and if your organization is going to reap the benefits more diverse companies have over time achieved, you have to place value on all the perspectives and experiences your employee base BY JULIE BOWDITCH Special to the Worcester Business Journal The above Editorial is the opinion of the WBJ Editorial Board. The Viewpoint column, the A Thousand Words cartoon, and the Word from the Web commentary represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of WBJ or its staff. WBJ welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Send them to bkane@wbjournal.com. A T H O U SA N D WO R D S B Y R A M Ó N L . S A N D O V A L Give diversity & inclusion efforts the opportunity to succeed Julie Bowditch brings, even if that includes non-traditional solu- tions to problems and having some uncomfortable conversations. e City of Worcester government has had a chief diversity officer role since 2016, yet it has been unable to keep anyone in that position for much more than a year. e last CDO, Stephanie Wil- liams, le abruptly at the start of this year, saying in her February resignation letter City leadership act- ed as if diversity and inclusion work is an extracur- ricular activity. Rather than fill her role right away, Acting City Manager Eric Batista, who is also the interim CDO, had racial equity audits completed for city departments, and he and the audit company are set to make those findings public to the City Council on Sept. 20. We applaud Batista's desire to actually put in the work to figure out what's been going wrong with the CDO position, and we hope the council and all City leadership take those find- ings to heart and initiate the changes necessary to make DEI more ingrained in the culture of the city government. Much like the City of Worcester has done, we all ought to take a hard look at what is working and what isn't with our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in order for them to have a meaningful impact. e region's economy won't achieve its full potential until the best and brightest are given equal opportunity to make their mark on the busi- ness community. ere's still a long road ahead, but this important work is worth the struggle. W W

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