Opinion: New study might be catalyst for gender parity on civic boards

In board leadership, women are often underrepresented.

Studies find most nonprofit boards nationwide have reached gender parity, but the number of women on civic and corporate boards show there’s still much work to be done.

A first-of-its-kind study is set to be released in late August on the state of female representation on civic boards and commissions in Missouri. The study was funded by nonpartisan group United WE and researched by University of Missouri-St. Louis faculty.

Anita Manion led those efforts at UMSL and gave me a preview. Her findings show that across the state, women occupy 36.9% of roles on civic boards and commissions. That number is higher in Springfield at 39.6%.

“What we found is what we suspected – that men and white Missourians are overrepresented on boards and commissions,” Manion said. “We know from research on corporate boards and other boards that diverse voices in decision-making can lead to more successful outcomes, and that’s what we want for our community.”

The Springfield data of female representation was collected this spring from 12 boards and commissions appointed by Springfield City Council or City Manager Jason Gage: Art Museum Board, 89%; Board of Adjustment, 20%; Board of Equalization, 50%; Building Trades Examination & Certification Board, 0%; Citizens Advisory Committee for Community Development, 40%; Landmarks Board, 25%; Mayor’s Commission on Human Rights & Community Relations, 57%; Personnel Board, 29%; Planning & Zoning Commission, 33%; Public Building Corporation Board, 22%; Springfield-Greene County Park Board, 56%; and Springfield-Greene County Library District Board, 44%.

Manion said the UMSL research team analyzed boards and commissions for municipalities with populations over 1,000, and they received an 80% response rate. The full dataset will be released Aug. 24.

United WE has a record of making strides toward gender parity. It began its Appointments Project nearly a decade ago to educate and equip women to serve on civic boards.

In 2014 in Kanas City, where the nonprofit is based, women comprised 25% of board and commission members. Today, it’s more than 51%.

The group is hoping to have a similar effect in Springfield. It held an Appointments Project meeting in conjunction with Rosie that was attended by 70 women on July 26.

Manion said equipping women for board service is not without challenges.

“People who haven’t traditionally served ... might not know these opportunities exist, they might have issues with child care or transportation that are barriers,” she said. “We’re talking about positions that are appointed and unpaid, so sometimes that can present barriers.”

Manion said data on boards is critical for change.

“Our goal is to not just have anecdotal information or gut feelings but to have actual data on who is serving and making these decisions in communities,” she said, adding equality on boards is critical as these groups are making decisions that impact residents and economic development.

Circling back to representation on nonprofit and corporate boards, nonprofit BoardSource found in 2021, 53% of nonprofit board members were women, up 5 percentage points from three years earlier.

As of March, women held 28.9% of corporate board seats nationwide, up 1.6 percentage points from the year prior, according to a study by nonprofit 50/50 Women on Boards.

At the current pace of growth, a Deloitte study anticipates gender parity among corporate boards globally to be reached by 2045.

Why is board parity important? Diversity ensures customers, stakeholders, employees and residents are represented when decisions are being made. And for those corporate boards, this has a bottom-line effect. A McKinsey & Co. report found that “companies whose boards are in the top quartile of gender diversity are 28% more likely than their peers to outperform financially.”

While financial performance may not be the goal of civic boards, representing the diversity of its community certainly should be. Through the study and its training efforts, United WE leaders say they want to ramp up representation.

I’m eager to watch these efforts to clear the barriers for women on the pathway to board service.

Springfield Business Journal Executive Editor Christine Temple can be reached at ctemple@sbj.net.