Report: women don't make it in Mass.

Don't look for a Massachusetts firm on a new list of top women-friendly firms; on that honor roll, Bay State businesses are MIA.

Indeed, if the list compiled by the National Association for Female Executives is any guide, an observer might conclude that the glass ceiling is still a feature in local corporate board rooms.

The association, a women's professional and business group based in New York, listed 35 big companies and nonprofits that it deemed as female-friendly, and nary a one calls Massachusetts home.

Some New England bright spots: The association's top ranked company is Aetna Inc. of Hartford; the association also noted that Carol Meyrowitz recently became chief executive at TJX Cos., the Framingham operator of such offprice retail chains as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.

Perhaps the Bay State's poor showing is a reflection of corporate giants swallowing up local firms and devolving Boston, once a headquarters town, into a branch office reporting to higher-ups in distant cities.

At least two buyers of local businesses rated mentions on the association's list: Procter & Gamble Co. of Ohio, which bought Gillette Co., and The New York Times Co., which bought The Boston Globe.

Besides Aetna, companies in the top 10 included Allstate Insurance Co. in Illinois, Colgate-Palmolive Co. in New York, and Gannett Co. in Virginia, the association said.

Another reason why Massachusetts firms may be absent from the list is that companies have to apply to the association to be considered, and perhaps many Bay State companies didn't apply, association president Betty Spence said.

"I look forward to seeing TJX on the list some day," said Spence, who couldn't say whether TJX made an application.

In making its rankings, the association looked at the number of women on corporate boards and in executive suites; it also looked at company succession plans and at regulatory filings that report companies' top earners, said Spence, who added, "We do this list so women know which companies are employers of choice for women."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)