Study finds lack of diversity in major Mass. institutions

Banner Staff

A survey released last week by the University of Massachusetts Boston details the lack of diversity on the boards of directors and trustees at some of Massachusetts’ leading corporations, hospitals, colleges and cultural institutions.

Although people of color make up approximately 20 percent of the state’s population, the review of nearly 4,500 leadership positions found decision-makers at the state’s leading institutions are overwhelmingly white, according to the study, which was conducted by the school’s Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy and the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies.

The positions were also generally held by males, although women make up 52 percent of the state population.

“Boards of directors are only one measure of how a community represents its people, but it is a very visible measure, and it does correlate to true power and authority,” said Steve Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School, in a news release. “It can be changed simply with an exercise of community will — it is long past time to exercise that will appropriately.”

The study revealed that whites make up 95 percent of the membership of boards of directors at the state’s 88 top companies, 94 percent of the boards at 65 hospitals, 86 percent of board members at 66 private and public colleges and universities and 79 percent of the boards of 23 cultural institutions. The gender breakdown indicates women account for 13 percent of company boards, 25 percent of hospital boards, 36 percent of educational boards and 41 percent of cultural boards.

Carol Hardy-Fanta, who co-authored the study with researcher Donna Stewartson, said in a statement that the low levels of gender and racial/ethnic diversity in Massachusetts corporations and hospitals persist at a time when these institutions are focused on reaching a more diverse customer base.

“At a time when people of color make up 20 percent of the state’s population, not having sufficient numbers of people of color at the board tables where decisions are made represents a loss of talent needed to solve the persistent and troubling racial and gender disparities,” said Hardy-Fanta, director of the graduate school’s Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy. “This is especially true when we consider significant discussions now taking place about economic inequality, health status and outcomes, and achievement gaps in education.”

This report follows two earlier McCormack studies that detailed racial under-representation among elected and appointed municipal positions, as well as top-level state positions appointed by former Gov. Mitt Romney.

A report released in February showed that people of color make up only 9.1 percent of elected posts and 15.5 percent of appointed positions in 10 Greater Boston communities. A report released in December found that 11 percent of 163 gubernatorial appointees during the Romney administration were held by people of color.

Researchers at the center were able to identify gender for 95 percent and ethnicity for 75 percent of nearly 4,500 board members across the state. The data was gathered using the Boston Globe’s list of the state’s top 100 companies and by compiling lists of the state’s hospitals, institutions of higher education and major cultural organizations.

Of the 772 board members at 88 companies, the study found that there are 11 (2.1 percent) each of African Americans and Asians and just four (0.8 percent) Latinos.

Of the 1,062 board seats at 65 hospitals, the study found that African Americans hold 39 (3.7 percent), Latinos hold 11 (1 percent) and Asians hold 10 (1 percent).

Of the 1,371 board members at 66 educational institutions, 110 (8 percent) are African American, 37 (2.7 percent) are Latino and 34 (2.5 percent) are Asian.

The study found that non-Hispanic whites appear to be better represented on cultural boards, but that may be misleading. The cultural organizations studied included those which focus on African American and Latino affairs and most of the institutions are located in communities with large populations of people of color. Cultural boards also lack diversity in the opposite direction: Whites make up only 12 percent of board members on African American- or Latino-focused cultural organizations.

Women tend to do better on hospital boards, where they hold a quarter of the seats, and approach a rate closer to their population on the boards of higher education and cultural institutions.