House resolution calls for more women on corporate boards
The Massachusetts House unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday encouraging Bay State corporations to put more women on boards and in positions of leadership, making a statement in support of gender diversity that lawmakers said makes sense both ethically and economically.
The non-binding resolution, sponsored in the House by Speaker Pro Tempore Patricia Haddad, asks public and private companies whose boards have nine or more members to have at least three female directors by Dec. 31, 2018. Companies with fewer than nine board seats should have at least two female directors, the resolution states.
The House also encouraged companies to publicly disclose the number of women on their boards of directors and in management, and to adopt policies to improve gender diversity.
Haddad, of Somerset, said that despite making up 52 percent of the population and 48 percent of the state workforce, women in Massachusetts hold just 14.9 percent of the corporate board seats and represent just 11.8 percent of executive managers.
"To be clear, I'm not saying anyone is willfully excluding women from positions or boards. I think what happens is when someone asks who should serve, they say, 'I know a guy.' We'll we want people to say, 'I know a good woman,' and this is a way to change the conversation," Haddad said.
The Senate passed the same resolution in July.
After Haddad, seven female lawmakers rose to speak in support of the resolution, including Rep. Cory Atkins, of Concord, who said that Haddad was being "modest" when talking about female qualifications for top level positions.
"There is no other group in society that can be discriminated against this way, whether it's benign or done on purpose, and I'm sure there's a mixture of both. It is time for us to stand up and say this way of business will no longer continue," Atkins said.
Rep. Paul Schmid, of Westport, said in some countries like Germany there are quotas for women representation on corporate boards. "This is the way of the world and we should get on with it," Schmid said.
Several representatives said a call for 20 percent representation should be the minimum, and expressed hope that companies would go beyond that.
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