Commonwealth Magazine
By Bruce Mohl
March 13, 2019
A SURVEY OF THE TOP OFFICIALS and board members at 25 prominent business advocacy organizations in Massachusetts indicates women and people of color are under-represented.
Women make up 51.5 percent of the state’s population, but they account for 28 percent of the business groups’ CEOs, 30 percent of their board members, and 18 percent of their board chairs, according to research compiled by the Eos Foundation and the Boston Business Journal. Overall, 15 of the 25 organizations, or 60 percent, had neither a female CEO or board chair.
People of color make up 28 percent of the state’s population, but they account for 4 percent of CEOs and 12 percent of board chairs at the 25 organizations, according to the survey data. Information on how many board members were people of color was not available.
The Massachusetts Bankers Association had the lowest percentage of female board members – 2 of 20, or 10 percent. The next lowest was the Massachusetts High Technology Council, with five women board members, or 14 percent of the total. Both organizations had male CEOs and board chairs.
