Women gaining in Mass. business roles
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New research has found that while Massachusetts is still behind when it comes to diversity in the boardroom, there is growing momentum for more women in high-level business roles.
The 13th Census of Women Directors and Executive Officers by The Boston Club found Massachusetts set a new record last year with women comprising 16.1 percent of board members at the state’s 100 largest public companies. More promising, according to the group, was that 33.9 percent of new directors appointed in the last year were women.
This came in contrast to the previous years when the number of all-male boards had actually grown.
“So much research shows that the change we push for is good for the companies’ bottom line and overall governance,” said Claire Muhm, president of The Boston Club.
While the growth may seem slow, said Bentley University Management Professor Susan M. Adams, co-author of the Census, the gains are getting stronger and progress could pick up with many board members aging. More than 22 percent of the independent directors of the census companies are 70 or older and 16.3 percent of the independent directors have served on their boards for at least 15 years.
Bright spots on the census include that a record 78 of 100 companies in the census now have at least one woman director. However, there are still more gains to be made, according to the club, with women of color numbering just 15 directors (1.8 percent) and 44 of the companies having no women in their executive suites.
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