Boston Globe
By Shirley Leung
June 18, 2019
Resolutions passed in the Legislature often prompt a roll of the eyes because they lack the power of the law. But here’s one that has come to haunt the boys in the boardroom: a 2015 resolution sponsored by Senator Karen Spilka and Representative Patricia Haddad calling for more women on boards.
It read: “Resolved, that by December 31, 2018, all corporate boards with nine or more members should have a minimum of three women directors; all boards with fewer than nine members should have a minimum of two women directors; and all companies, privately held as well as publicly traded, should measure their progress toward a goal of equal representation of men and women in leadership positions on an annual basis.”
Four years later, how are Massachusetts companies measuring up? If the Boston Club’s annual census of female leadership is any indication, not so well. The club, which dedicates itself to women’s advancement, found in its 2018 census of the 100 biggest public companies in Massachusetts that only 24 had three or more female directors.
