Business & Merchant
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 21:03
Local Businesses Surveyed; Provided with Guidelines for More Diverse Boards
In 2010, the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania began exploring gender diversity among publically traded businesses in Allegheny County.
In 2010, the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania began exploring gender diversity among publically traded businesses in Allegheny County.
The project was started in part because 40% of every higher education graduating class nationally is female. In order to attract and retain top tier female professionals to our region, it is critical that women see themselves reflected in corporate and government leadership.
The Leadership Washington County Class 11 took this program and applied it to a survey conducted in Washington County. Leadership Washington County is an 8-month-long training program for professionals living and or working in Washington Co. The program is designed to help participants gain a broad spectrum of issues affecting the county and in turn foster leadership, commitment and active participation in the community. Each class is required to complete a project.
The Leadership Washington Co. Class 11 began its survey among the top 50 employers in the county, including for profit and non-profit businesses. The focus of the project was to join in movement towards making Board selections more inclusive, transparent and diverse. Of the top 50 employers, 19 were eliminated because they are headquartered out of state or have no Board. Another 3 did not respond, leaving a total of 28 businesses. Added to that were 9 government agencies for a total of 37 surveyed/participating boards.
The sampling of survey participants well represented the county and included financial institutions, service and hospitality, transportation, education, social services, manufacturing, and government and public administration. In addition to gender questions, each Board was asked for numbers pertaining to race, age and method of appointment. Information compiled from the survey showed that women represent 26% of the Boards of Directors of participating business and agencies.
This is where the Leadership Washington County Class 12 has come in. Taking the information gathered by the previous class, the group is hoping to create awareness and spark change across the county. The members of the Leadership Class 12 divided the list of Boards who participated in the survey into two categories, those with at least 25% female representation and those without. Following that, letters of recommended “Best Practices” were sent to each business or agency asking that each Board consider adopting the following in regards to diversity in general: (1) Institute a two- or three-year term of service and a minimum of consecutive terms each board member may serve with an option to be reappointed or re-elected after a specific amount of time off the Board. (2) Based on Board size, maintain a 20% minority population. (3) Based on Board size, maintain an age range that represents all ages served by the business with at least one person representing ages 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 & 60+.
“We believe following these guidelines would allow Boards of Directors an opportunity to view a more current take on how their organization truly affects their community as well as assist the county in retaining professional women, which can lead to stronger family units, better performance in schools and an overall increase in pride of community,” said Angel Gulick, Mon Valley YMCA Program Director and Leadership Class 12 participant. “What better place to start than with the Boards whose decisions affect our communities the most?”
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