Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 5, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 11 PUBLIC COMPANIES CEOs 0.0% 5.3% 4.6% Board seats 15.6% 18.6% 19.9% Executives* 7.7% 12.0% 14.2% NONPROFITS** CEOs 27.3% 23.0% 20.0% Board seats 38.3% 36.0% 48.0% Central Mass. vs. state & nation The percent of women holding positions of power Central Mass. Massachusetts U.S. *Based on firms' listings of their leadership teams in regulatory filings and on their websites **Includes colleges and hospitals Sources: U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and 990 form filings (Central Massachusetts institutions), Massachusetts Women's Leadership Index (Massachusetts institutions), Catalyst.org "Women in S&P 500 Companies (corporate CEOs and board seats), CNNMoney (national executive officers), Guidestar (nonprofit CEOs), Leading With Intent: A National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices (nonprofit board seats). I L L U S T R A T I O N / J A S O N S C H N I E D E R . C O M WBJ's findings Twelve of 17 public companies exam- ined for this report didn't have a single female senior executive. Of 78 public- company executives examined in Central Mass., only six were female. Put another way, last year more men named John – seven – sat in executive offices at area public companies than women of any name. None of those 17 public companies are led by a woman; and – with the Jan. 26 resignation of CEO Shira Goodman from Framingham office retailer Staples – neither were any of 13 private compa- nies examined for this report. Of all the 75 organizations WBJ looked at, nine were led by a woman, a rate of 12 percent. By and large, an organization's top executive (typically with the title CEO, although titles like president and execu- tive director are also used) is chosen by its board of directors/trustees, and those CEOs are responsible for filling out the rest of the executive suite. The board members still oversee those exec- utives, including determining their pay and reviewing organizational audits; and those executives can be board members themselves. At public companies, board members are nominated by a committee typically including existing board members and a CEO or other top executive, and the nominees are approved by shareholders. At public colleges, board members are usually chosen by state officials, while private colleges and social service non- profits typically have selection commit- tees fill out their volunteer boards. "Companies that are worth their salt know they need new blood, male or female," Van Dyck said. "You get people who are seeing things that people who've been around a long time aren't seeing." For the 17 public companies WBJ examined, only 16 percent of their board members were women. Public company boards generally have minimal turnover, leaving few opportunities to create more gender diversity. Nearly one out of four Central Mass. public-company directors are men who are at least 70 years old. Oxford medical device maker IPG Photonics appointed its first female director in at least 11 years in 2016 by adding a 10th seat to its nine-member board. In a statement to WBJ, IPG said it is an equal-opportunity employer. Overall, 33 percent of area executives and board members are women, the WBJ analysis found. However, that rate is heavily skewed by nonprofits like the YWCA of Central Massachusetts, whose 30-member volunteer board is entirely women and whose executive office counts one man and nine women. For the total percentage of board members and senior executives, Central Massachusetts social service nonprofits had the best gender mix (50 percent women), followed by colleges (39 per- cent), healthcare organizations (31), financial institutions (27), private corpo- rations (18) and public companies (13). What's a good percentage? Women make up 48.6 percent of the Worcester County workforce and 50.6 percent of the county's population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Knowing men have long dominated business leadership positions, The Boston Club, an advocacy group that reports each year on women in business leadership positions throughout Massachusetts, doesn't say organizations today need to hit a 50/50 threshold in its board and executive offices to be con- 33% The overall rate of women serving on the boards or in executive offices of the 75 Central Mass. organizations examined by WBJ. Continued on next page The Boardroom Gap Feb. 5 edition of WBJ Fewer seats at the table – A WBJ study of 75 Central Mass. organizations found women fill 33 percent of leadership positions, although the number is significantly less at for-profit companies. Pay gap – Male executives in Central Mass. make $1.3 million on average, while female executives make $572,709. Feb. 19 edition of WBJ The impact on today – While women have slowly assumed a greater portion of leadership positions, the inequality companies deal with today affects everything from culture to profits. Their personal stories – What is it like to be one of the only women in a boardroom? Central Mass. business leaders tell their stories. March 5 edition of WBJ Creating progress – Movement toward equal representation in corporate leadership has been slow, but steps have been taken, and more are under consideration. Leading organizations – Organizations like Worcester State University and TJX have found success getting more equal representation in their leadership. They say why and how they did it.

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