Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 19, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 11 Share price performance, based on gender diversity in leadership Source: Bloomberg, CS Gender 3000 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 50 150 250 350 450 550 650 France 16.1 21.6 25.1 29.6 31.4 34.0 Italy 5.5 4.6 9.2 17.5 21.7 30.8 United Kingdom 10.1 11.9 15.5 17.9 21.0 22.8 Germany 11.8 14.0 18.5 23.0 21.1 21.1 Canada 12.5 13.5 14.9 15.9 18.7 20.5 United States 12.7 12.8 13.3 13.7 15.5 16.6 Global average 9.6 10.3 11.3 12.7 13.7 14.7 India 5.5 5.8 6.2 6.7 10.2 11.2 China 8.8 9.0 9.6 10.7 9.1 9.2 Brazil 5.6 6.1 5.7 6.5 5.9 7.1 Japan 0.9 1.1 1.2 1.6 3.5 3.5 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Board gender gap in the world's 10 largest economies Of the world's 10 largest economies, the U.S. ranks sixth for percentage of female board members at public companies. In Central Massachusetts, the current percentage is 16 percent, according to WBJ's study. Source: Credit Suisse (percentages), International Monetary Fund (largest economies as measured by gross domestic product) assistant vice presidents. In the past three years, women at TJX have earned 51 percent of promotions into senior vice president roles, 40 per- cent of promotions into vice president roles, and 58 per- cent of promotions into assistant vice president roles. "At the board level and through- out the TJX organi- zation, women are an important part of our workforce and represent an increasing percentage of our leadership team," Meyrowitz said in a statement. TJX has been a force in retail at a time when many of its competitors have struggled against big box stores and online retailers like Amazon. From the budget year Meyrowitz's CEO term began through the latest budget year, the company's profit rose 161 percent to $2.3 billion, sales jumped 69 percent to $30.9 billion, and the store count rose by 51 percent to more than 3,800. Meyrowitz said achieving goals at the company "relies to a great degree on our ability to continuously develop our next generation of leaders." Female CEOs = gender diversity Female-led companies have been found to have better gender diversity throughout their ranks, according to a 2017 report by Chicago-based execu- tive leadership consulting firm Spencer Stuart. At female-led American busi- nesses, 33 percent of directors are female. At male-led firms, that rate is 22 percent. In Central Massachusetts, out of the 75 institutions examined by WBJ, the nine led by women have better records of appointing women to boards and executive offices. Their rate for boards is 43 percent, compared to 33 percent among all the organizations examined. Among executives, the rate is 57 per- cent at female-led entities compared to 36 percent among all. Female business leaders also help companies in intangible ways. Los Angeles-based executive recruit- ing firm Korn Ferry found last year in talking to 57 women CEOs at large national companies, female CEOs are more likely than male CEOs to be motivated by a sense of purpose and a belief their company could have a posi- tive effect on the community and its employees. New York City-based investment research firm MSCI in a 2015 study found fewer instances of governance- related controversies such as cases of fraud and shareholder battles at compa- nies with better gender diversity. Manzi, Fidelity Bank's CEO since 1997, said gender equality has never explicitly been the bank's objective. "We didn't target a number," he said, adding of the qualified candidates the bank has chosen, "it just so happens that a lot of them are women." On one wall in a Fidelity Bank meet- ing room is a message illustrating the bank's priorities with employees: "If you value the differences in people, the dif- ferences will provide value." Female-inclusive firms remain the exception Of Central Massachusetts's 17 public companies, women make up only 8 percent of executive positions. Twelve of the 17 companies don't have a female senior executive, and half of those don't have a female board member. "Biases and misconceptions continue to linger," said Danna Greenberg, a pro- fessor of organizational behavior at Babson College in Wellesley. Female candidates generally need to push for themselves for consideration more than a man does, Greenberg said, and a woman who might be seen as pushy could cause a different reaction than a man would. "Women need to figure out much earlier in their career how they bal- ance that pushback from being a strong self-advocate," Greenberg said. Women held fewer high-level positions decades ago because they were less likely to have college degrees, but that's changed. Women make up a higher percentage of college graduates than ever, outnumbering men for the first time in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. "They're very highly educated, which has changed," Adams said of female can- didates for high-level jobs. "You couldn't say that 20 years ago. You probably couldn't even say that 15 years ago." At Fidelity Bank, Conrad said she's seen an environment not typical in finance. "In my 20 years in banking, I hate to use this term, but it can be seen as a boys' club," she said. "It's so refreshing to go to chamber events with more women representing companies. I'd like to see more. Who wouldn't?" Susan Adams Danna Greenberg Companies with higher percentages of women in senior management perform better, Credit Suisse found in a 2016 study of international firms. P H O T O / M A T T W R I G H T W

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