We undertook this research to determine who is leading on gender and racial balance among 25 prominent Massachusetts business advocacy organizations and who is falling behind. Women and people of color represent 51.5% and 28%, respectively, of the state’s population yet are significantly underrepresented in leadership positions. Why?
These groups have outsized impact on the direction and growth of our economy, which makes diversity among them paramount. The data show:
- 15 of 25 organizations (60%) have neither a female CEO nor female board chair.
- Leading business advocacy groups have a long way to reach gender and racial parity across all leadership categories (CEO, board chair, % board members). Women comprise 28% of CEO positions, 18% of board chairs, and hold 30% of board seats. People of color comprise 4% and 12% of the first categories; data was not made available on overall board percentages. Women of color comprise 4% and 2% of CEO positions and board chairs.
- While few organizations have achieved gender parity, there are some bright spots. The Boston Bar Association and MassBudget have 50%+ women on their boards and other four groups have greater than 40% female board membership.
- While racial/ethnic representation lags gender parity, there are bright spots here as well. The Boston Foundation, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and MassBudget have 30%+ people of color on their boards.
Read more in the WOMEN’S POWER GAP DIVERSITY SNAPSHOT: BUSINESS ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. See how your organization stacks to others by using our interactive tool to sort through the organizations in this first annual report.
This list includes gender and diversity data for the 25 most prominent business advocacy organizations in Massachusetts. You can sort by column headings below or use the search function.
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