Worcester Business Journal

14 Worcester Business Journal | February 5, 2024 | wbjournal.com F O C U S W O M E N I N L E A D E R S H I P Steady, but too SLOW Despite more attention and some progress to the lack of women in leadership, less than 16% of top executives and zero CEOs at Central Massachusetts large public companies are women BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Staff Writer I n 2015, the New York Times created a stir in the business world by finding a unique way to present the reality of corporate America's glass ceiling using a straightforward-yet-alarming fact: More men named John lead S&P 1500 firms than women of any name. A 2023 analysis by Bloomberg of the smaller S&P 500 found the amount of female CEOs had finally surpassed the amount of Johns among those index companies. With the emergence of the #MeToo movement and increased attention being paid to diversity, equity, and inclusion, it might be tempting to conclude the male domination of America's corporate boardrooms will soon be a thing of the past. Available statistics say otherwise, including in Central Mass., where 84.4% of top-paid public company execu- tives are male. is statistic came from a review by WBJ of 2023 Securities and Exchange Commission filings made by the 14 publicly traded companies headquar- tered in Central Massachusetts and traded on either the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. If the region's largest public corporations are going to have C-suites representing the makeup of their employ- ee bases, their client profiles, or the communities that they operate in, more concrete action is needed. "Culture needs to start from the top. We have more women taking on roles below the C-suite, it's just a question of how to get them into the next level," said Ann LaFrance, a member of the corporate board committee of e Boston Club, a Beverly-based nonprofit focused on elevating women to leadership positions. "at culture where you like to bring on people who are like you is part of the problem, but it's a difficult one to resolve." The stats In their annual reports to the SEC, publicly traded companies must disclose the amount and type of com- pensation paid to CEOs, CFOs, and the three next most highly-compensated executives. ese are generally referred to as named executive officers. WBJ's examina- tion of these filings found 54 of the 64 of these execu- tives were male, and eight of the 14 companies had no female representation among their named executive officers. As has been the case since the May 2022 resignation of Shacey Petrovic, then president and CEO of Acton medical device company Insulet, no Central Mass. public company is led by a woman. "At Insulet, we believe diverse perspectives, thoughts, experiences, and backgrounds within our workforce are vital to our overall success. Gender diversity, includ- ing having female executives, is crucial for fostering innovation, encouraging collaboration, and cultivating a vibrant culture," said spokeswoman Angela Wiczek. "In- sulet's dedication to gender parity has been recognized by the Women's Forum of New York at the Breakfast of Corporate Champions, an event honoring companies with 40% or more women on their boards. Currently, Insulet's Board has six females Directors out of 11." None of the other 14 companies in WBJ's report responded to requests for comment by press deadline. Differences in experience, titles, and industries make direct comparisons of salaries difficult for those 64 executives, but available statistics suggest an income gap between genders. Even when CEOs are excluded, a comparison of total compensation among the 64 exec- utives found the males earn $71,586 more on average annually than the females. e situation in Central Massachusetts, where 15.6% of named executive officers are female, largely mirrors the Massachusetts rate of 16.1% determined in a state- wide census of the top 100 earning public companies conducted by e Boston Club. As part of its census, e Boston Club oen offers support to companies lacking female representation on their C-suite, but the interest from those companies in actually addressing the issue can vary, said LaFrance. "Sometimes it's hard to actually get a contact to re- spond," LaFrance said. "Oen we try to meet with com- panies who are the stars to see how they've succeeded. ose tend to be more production conversations. "A lot of the time we hear from companies who are lagging that they've tried, but they claim there just aren't any good women candidates around," she added. is is called the purple squirrel problem, LaFrance said, where a laundry list of required job experience, Ann LaFrance, The Boston Club member For a complete list of photo subjects, see page 16.

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