Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 30, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 11 It started with a yes. an idea. inspiration. drive. commitment. creativity. talent. strength. hard work. determination. IT STARTED WITH YOU. OUTSTANDING WOMEN IN BUSINESS, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENT. We've got you. 888.599.2265 | southbridgecu.com Equal gender mix needed in executive positions A September report from the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council said although men and women are entering the life sciences sector in equal proportion, the gender gap in the industry grows at all career stages, with women comprising 24 percent of C-suite positions and 14 percent of board seats. When polled online, WBJ readers said the leadership mix needs to be closer to 50/50. F L A S H P O L L Should life sciences companies do more to promote women into executive positions? COMMENTS: Yes. Companies should interview at least one female candidate for every executive opening. Yes. Firms should have a gender mix in executive positions similar to the mix for their entire workforce. 45% No. The situation will resolve itself in a few years as more women are entering the field. 14% No. There are already equal opportunity laws on the books and the best person gets the job. 31% 10% "As more women graduate from STEM education, there will be more women in bio." studied federal data. Women have been in key science roles for generations, even if it wasn't until much more recently they were recognized for it. "Hidden Figures," a book and movie released last year, told the story of a trio of women who were key contributors to a NASA space launch in the 1960s. Women are still fighting for equality in the field today. Nearly half of women – 46 percent – said they'd reject an employer if it had an all-male board, all-male manage- ment or if they were interviewed only by men, according to a report in September by the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, which surveyed 1,000 current, prospective or former Massachusetts workers. Women are about equal with men in entry-level positions in the STEM industries, MassBio found. But that roughly split quickly changes: men account for 76 percent of executive positions and 86 percent of board seats. Reaching potential workers early Waters Corp., an analytical instrumentation maker in Milford, starts STEM outreach in elementary schools, sending staff to classrooms for scientific experiments or to help develop curriculum. Waters participates in the Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council, whose mission is to increase students' STEM education opportunities. The company sponsors scholarships for Milford area graduates to study STEM in college and supports a STEM acade- my at Regis College in Weston, said Mark McAuliffe, the company's director of global talent acquisition. "What we're trying to do at Waters is support the ecosystem," McAuliffe said. Boston Scientific, a Marlborough medical device maker, has 14 teams of STEM education volunteers, including 24 people in Massachusetts. The compa- ny starts as early as second grade, giving young girls an example to look up to, said Marilee Grant, the company's direc- tor of community engagement. "They're not identifying … that can be them in the lab coat," Grant said. MathWorks, a Natick software compa- ny, is involved with projects such as a weeklong STEM program in Boston public schools. The company donated $10 million this month to the Museum of Science in Boston for an exhibit being designed to appeal to women and girls. "It's the catalyst for younger ages to become engaged in STEM," said P.J. Boardman, MathWorks' education marketing director. Women in national science and engineering jobs: 1993–2013 Source: National Science Board Science & Engineering Indicators 2016 "Jobs should go to the best qualified candidates regardless of gender. It isn't rocket science." "This is not to look good, it's smart business." 1993 22.9% 30.8% 34% 21.3% 50.7% 8.6% 1995 22.4% 29% 34.7% 21.5% 49.9% 8.6% 1997 22.7% 27% 36% 21.7% 51.9% 9% 1999 23.6% 27.1% 36.4% 23% 54% 9.5% 2003 26.3% 28.4% 40.3% 28.5% 52.% 11.1% 2006 26.1% 26.5% 43.7% 28.4% 54.2% 11.6% 2008 26.8% 26.3% 45% 29.7% 52.9% 12.9% 2010 27.5% 25.1% 48.2% 30% 58.1% 12.7% 2013 29% 25.3% 48.4% 30.7% 61.6% 14.9% Biological/ All science and Computer/ agricultural/ engineering mathematical environmental Physical Social Year jobs scientists life scientists scientists scientists Engineers W

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