Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | July 24, 2023 | wbjournal.com F O C U S HIGHER EDUCATION e final drop Grace Wang, WPI president Alastair Cribb, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine dean David Fithian, Clark University president Greg Weiner, Assumption University president Kenneth Elmore, Dean College president Glenn Sulmasy, Nichols College president Luis Pedraja, Quinsigamond Community College president Richard Lapidus, Fitchburg State University president James Vander Hooven, Mount Wachusett Community College president Dr. Michael Collins, UMass Chan Medical School president Richard Lessard, MCPHS University president Vincent Rougeau, College of the Holy Cross president Nancy Niemi, Framingham State University president Barry Maloney, Worcester State University president Mary Lou Retelle, Anna Maria College president Despite progress in the lower rungs of higher education's leadership ladder, women are not equally represented in the industry's top executive spot BY ISABEL TEHAN WBJ Staff Writer W omen CEOs are in charge of 10% of Fortune 500 companies, according to Fortune magazine. Comparatively, the figures of 20% of Central Massachusetts colleges and 39% of Massachusetts colleges being run by women seems quite impressive in the strive for equality. Yet, despite the improvements over the past five years, during which the statewide figure has increased from 33%, according to the Eos Foundation's Women's Power Gap higher education progress report, there remains a disconnect between the talent pool vying for the top spot in college leadership and the amount of women who actually make it there. That discrepancy has impacts on students and the future of innovation in higher education. "If you don't see a female president, it's hard to imagine some day you will become one," said Grace Wang, president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. "The talent is there, but do you feel empowered and inspired?" A slim majority of college and university provosts across Massachusetts are women, making up 51% of the often second-in-command role in higher education, according to the report from the Eos, a Harwich Port-based private foundation. This year was the first time this provost figure reached parity, after increasing 4 percentage points since the foundation's 2018 report. "So many women are going into higher education, and there's such a strong talent pool," said Silbert. The gap between percentage of women as provosts and percentage of women as presidents is indicative of a problem in the selection process for presidents, said Andrea Silbert, Eos president. "If you have women as 50% of provosts, I would expect to see women as 50% of presidents. Women are in the applicant pool," said Silbert. "We should already be there." Three out of 15 Women make up a majority of student bodies across Massachusetts colleges and universities, at 58% in 2023. The talent pool of women interested

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