Mass. companies report fewer women in executive roles
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Women are losing ground in executive-level representation for the first time in 15 years, a report released Thursday suggests.
The big picture: Fewer women are filling out the boardrooms of Massachusetts' largest publicly traded companies, per the annual census from The Boston Club, an organization that advocates for more women in corporate leadership.
- Those roles not only come with high pay and benefits, but also access to decision makers on Beacon Hill, Congress and beyond.
Driving the news: The share of women in board seats across these companies fell by a half of a percentage point, from 33.1% in 2025 to 32.6% this year.
- What's unclear at this point is whether this year's results are an inflection point or a blip, as it was in 2011, researchers say.
What they're saying: "We got to see that progress after that stall," said Alia Crocker, an associate professor at Babson College and co-author of the report.
- At the time, one in nine women were on boards. Now it's roughly one in three, she added, during a panel previewing the findings Tuesday.
- "Hopefully, it's just a pause."
Caveat: A growing number of companies are declining to disclose data on their board's gender, racial or ethnic makeup, making it virtually impossible to paint a complete picture of women's representation.
- 54 Mass.-based companies chose not disclose this year, up from 42 in 2025 and eight in 2024.
- Two factors contribute to the plummeting transparency: a 2024 federal ruling striking down Nasdaq's board diversity disclosure rules, as the report notes, and the Trump administration's targeting of law firms and other companies that promoted DEI-related initiatives.
Context: While the drop coincides with heightened federal scrutiny, there may also be concerns about actions taken by activists, shareholders and others, says Trish Foster, the Boston Club's executive director.
- "The Boston Club stands by our historical support for companies to
disclose," she said. "It's an established best practice that can help increase the number of women on boards."
Zoom in: Women's share of board seats overall have fallen from half to one-quarter in the past two years, but they have still made some gains, per the census.
- There are 10 women CEOs, two more than last year.
- Six boards had achieved gender parity, compared to three last year.
- 12 other boards had at least one woman, up from eight. But the number of boards in the middle, reporting three or more women, fell from 68 to 65 this year.
Between the lines: One factor that could contribute to the stall, Crocker said, is that the same handful of women leaders are being tapped for roles at the top.
- And some companies are looking to replace outgoing CEOs with people who have already served as CEOs, narrowing the talent pool even more.
- "So if we're just going off of that screener and saying we want a CEO, it's almost like we're silently saying we want a man because that's what's going to happen," Crocker said.