Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 16, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 29 Yes, we still need more women in leadership V I E W P O I N T E D I T O R I A L E arlier this year, many celebrated an S&P 500 record: 10% female CEOs. My reaction: not good enough. While women are about half the U.S. workforce, they are greatly underrepresented in leadership roles. e Massachu- setts Women's Leadership Index published by the Institute for Women's Leadership at Nichols College aggregates data about women leaders. In 2023, the com- monwealth was scored 50 out of 100 (a score of 100 would mean equal representation); better than 2015's 36, but still a failing grade. For decades, researchers have explored factors con- tributing to leadership gaps: bias in favor of male leaders (it persists), systemic barriers (workplace policies have improved, but challenges remain), home demands (women do more unpaid work), and mentoring (men tend to receive more constructive, strategic feedback). An intelligent, confident young woman I know shared for her last job search, she changed her first name on her resume to be gender neutral. I don't know whether de-feminizing her name contributed to her success in landing the job, but it's troubling there's a perception it might help. Stories like these are not unusual; wom- en still face barriers and bias. Why does it matter? In our increasingly complex world, we need everyone's contributions, ideas, and energy to enact change. Firms with more women in leadership see better innovation, teamwork, engagement, and financial performance. Nichols IWL, under the leadership of Director Leslee Ruggeri, helps students develop their leadership styles and skills through mentoring, workshops, and speakers. When our graduates enter the workforce, businesses and organizations need to do their part, too. My advice is to focus on three Rs: Recruit more intentionally: Cast a wider net and demand a diverse candidate pool. Rethink how hiring and promotion decisions are made: Use objective measures rather than gut instinct. Reward behaviors we know are vital to organizational health and success: Ask how leaders encourage contributions, facilitate collaboration, and build positive culture. And a bonus R: role models. Consider Beyoncé, Tay- lor Swi, and "Barbie." On her summer tour, Beyoncé shared the stage with her daughter, reminding the world what mothers can do. Taylor Swi rewarded the transportation team on her tour with bonuses 10 times the industry average. Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig, the women behind "Barbie," the highest-grossing movie of the year, share mutual respect and creative collabo- ration. Women can the extraordinary while leading in authentic ways, and together these women have grossed $4+ billion. Now those are records worth celebrating. Jean Beaupré is the dean for the School of Business at Nichols College in Dudley. BY JEAN BEAUPRÉ Special to WBJ 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 Recognizing women business leaders Jean Beaupré T his year marks WBJ's 15th annual Outstanding Women in Business issue, where we profiles several top female leaders from our business community. For years before we launched these awards, we debated the merits of an event that recognized only women leaders, as we feared it might infer they were not sufficiently qualified for other awards, like Business Leaders of the Year. at was never true, but our discomfort with the possibility of that perception kept the idea sidelined for some time. It's a good thing we got out of our own way back in 2009 and got this awards started; the stories of women leading large and small organizations, making a difference in the lives of so many through their inspired work and reaching back to encourage, mentor, and inspire other women to reach for the stars have been some of the best stories we've told. And this year's edition is no exception. By most measures, much progress has been made when it comes to opportunities for women in the workplace, and there are more women in leadership positions than ever before. But has equality been achieved? Hardly. In the October announcement of the Nobel Prize for Economics going to Harvard University professor Claudie Goldin for her work on understanding the gender gap in the labor market, it was noted Goldin is the third woman to receive the award, which has been given out for 93 years! Goldin's work and other studies show women's pay remains well behind their male colleagues. In an interview in the Boston Globe, Goldin pegged that gap at around 82% of what men are paid for the same work. Another element that has thrown off women's increasing presence in the workplace has been the coronavirus pandemic. When push came to shove, women stepped into the role of providing pressing child care needs in greater numbers than their male counterparts, and only as the pandemic has receded have their numbers returned to previous levels. Clearly, much work needs to be done. All of this is to say we need to continue to elevate the stories of women leaders in the Central Massachusetts economy. e Outstanding Women in Business awards have been a 15-year celebration of everything good about our business community: professionals who've overcome adversity and systematic barriers; leaders preparing the next generation for further success; those who fight for people on the margins of society and to make the world better for the rest of us. We would love to live in a world where people are treated equally for their talent, skills, and expertise regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, or any other discriminating factors. at is not the world we live in yet, but with every great contribution from those seeking to make us better – like the Outstanding Women in Business – we get a step closer to that reality. 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. W W

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