Report: Mass. nonprofits lag on women leaders
Massachusetts displayed little progress in adding women to board and chief executive positions of major nonprofits over the last two years, according to a Boston-based organization that promotes the advancement of women to high-level leadership roles.
The organization, The Boston Club, said an analysis of the top 150 nonprofits in the Bay State revealed only a 1-percent increase in women board members in two years, based on research – also called a census - conducted by Simmons College, also in Boston.
“These are large boards serving major organizations; the smallest on the list have $65 million a year in revenue. Why aren’t there more women involved?” asked Beverly A. Brown, chair of the club’s Nonprofit Board Committee.
The research also shows that boards with 50 percent women were more likely to have a woman CEO. Brown said that underscores the need to push for gender parity on boards, since they hire the CEO.
The club said the “slow” pace of progress revealed in the census mirrors the glacial pace of gender diversity on the boards and in C-suites of the largest public companies in Massachusetts, which the club has reported for 14 years, although the ranks of women in leadership are larger at nonprofits.
Among the key findings:
- 14 out of 150 organizations have more than $1 billion in annual revenue; four are led by women;
- The actual number of women holding board seats declined, mirroring a decline in the total number of seats;
- Twenty-two (or 15 percent of) organizations have boards with at least 50 percent women, an increase of only 1 organization in two years; and
- The total percentage of organizations with women chief executives increased 3 percent (from 20 percent to 23 percent).
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