Diversity still lagging in Bay State boardrooms
White men retain power, survey says
The boards of directors of the Bay State's largest corporations, hospitals, universities, and cultural institutions are overwhelmingly composed of white men, according to a report to be released today by the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at University of Massachusetts, Boston.
The survey of 240 boards of directors, the first comprehensive survey of race and gender in Massachusetts boardrooms, revealed an immense mismatch between the composition of those boards and the makeup of the overall population.
At corporations, 95 percent of board members are white, and 87 percent are men. At hospitals, boards of directors are 94 percent white, and 75 percent are men; in higher education, boards are 86 percent white, and 64 percent are men. Boards at cultural institu tions are 79 percent white and 50 percent male.
Long targeted by activists seeking racial and gender parity, the makeup of boards of directors has been seen for some time as a measure of inequality among the state's power brokers. But despite years of prodding, the survey shows few gains in diversity at the top .
"It's depressing," said Toni Wolfman, executive in residence at Bentley College who heads the corporate search committee at The Boston Club, an advocacy organization that seeks to advance women in the business world. "The people making the decisions just haven't gotten the message yet."
The survey results also were viewed by some as a warning that powerful institutions could be growing further out of touch as demographics in the state shift. Setting policy, making high-level hiring decisions, and monitoring executives' conduct, boards serve as guides and, on some occasions, as consciences for public and private organizations with far-reaching responsibilities.
"This state has some basic problems to solve," said Carol Hardy-Fanta , executive director of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, and a co author of the report. "People and companies leaving the state, the achievement gap in education, health disparities, struggling cultural institutions, women making 71 cents on the dollar compared to men. Decisions on how to solve those problems aren't going to get made if boards don't reflect the increasing diversity of this state."
The UMass survey is the latest in a series of polls taken by the McCormack school as part of its Diversity Initiative, a partnership with various community groups and leaders, including the publisher of The Boston Globe, to take the measure of minority representation and race relations across the Commonwealth.
Another report released earlier this week showed that the members of state boards and commissions are similarly unreflective of the populations they serve, with 92 percent of their 1,189 members being white.
Minorities make up 20 percent of the state's population. In Boston, where many boards of directors and state boards and commissions are based, over half the population belong to racial or ethnic minorities.
While African-Americans are poorly represented among boards of directors in relation to their share of the state's population, Latinos and Asians fare even worse, according to the UMass survey.
Across boards of directors at corporations, hospitals, in higher education, and at cultural institutions, Latinos and Asians make up just 2 percent of the total seats. Their shares of the state's population are 8 percent and 5 percent, respectively, according to 2005 census figures.
"It's an old-white-boy network, with deals cut and relationships forged at The Last Hurrah and The Harvard Club, places we don't frequent," said Giovanna Negretti , executive director of the Latino mobilization group ¿Oiste?, which co sponsored the survey of state boards and commissions. "There has not been a culture of inclusion in these organizations . . . and there's an element of racism and prejudice here. Let's call it what it is."
Though there have been sporadic efforts to increase the representation of minorities and women on boards, they have not been consistent, said Wayne Budd , a former general counsel at John Hancock who is African-American and sits on several higher education and nonprofit boards.
"I think it's a lack of effort," Budd said. "It's apathy more than a malevolent, conspiratorial effort to keep these boards white. But this has to be something people are dedicated to. They can't do it once in a great while ."
Additionally, membership on the boards of many nonprofits goes to those with deep pockets, who belong to the kinds of social networks that yield hefty donations. Minorities are less likely to inhabit those worlds, Budd said. 