Boston Business Journal
By Gintautas Dumcius
March 19, 2019
Just 32 percent of Massachusetts state boards and commissions have reached gender parity, according to a new Eos Foundation study.
Women make up 22 percent of CEOs and 34 percent of chairs of 50 taxpayer-funded boards and commissions. They hold 39 percent of board seats, the study shows.
Seven percent of CEOs and 10 percent of board chairs are people of color, while women of color make up two percent of CEOs and six percent of board chairs, according to the data. “Women and people of color account for 51.5 percent and 28 percent, respectively, of the state’s population, but remain underrepresented in positions of leadership,” the study says.
Women are “woefully underrepresented” on education boards, the study says, pointing to the Board of Higher Education’s 18 percent (two women on 11-member board) figure and the UMass Board of Trustees’ 29 percent (five women among 17 members). The numbers do not include student members.
