Boston Globe, June 29, 2004

Boston companies boast more than 7,000 minority managers but African-Americans, Asians, and Latinos are rare in boardrooms, according to excerpts from a study by the Partnership, a nonprofit organization that helps employers retain minority professionals.

The number of minority officers and managers rose to 7,406 in 2002, from 6,588 in 1999 -- a 12% increase, according to excerpts from the report that were released yesterday. But about 95% of corporate directors at major Boston-area companies are white, the excerpts said. The complete study will be released at the start of the Democratic National Convention next month in Boston.

The study, based on data from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, showed that 2.5% of all board directors at Boston-area companies are African-American; 1.4% are Asian; fewer than 1% are Latino; and none are Native Americans.

The study, which was sponsored by KeySpan Energy, did offer some good news: Although many outsiders still consider Boston an unfriendly place for minorities to live and work, minority professionals who have relocated to the city tend to like it and report they have found opportunities for professional growth.

Those findings were based on interviews this year with 170 minority professionals, 80 corporations, and 20 executive recruiters, said Phillip Page, vice president of client services at the Partnership. "Once people come here, they grow to like Boston," Page said. "We do know that there is a growing sense that Boston is a place where minorities can thrive and feel comfortable that there will be opportunities for them to advance."

Colette Phillips, president of Colette Phillips & Associates, a public relations firm in Needham, said the findings are a positive sign. "It means that the number of managers and officials are beginning to reflect the fact of the changing demographics in Boston," Phillips said. "But now, we must work on diversifying corporate boards."

Nick Stavropoulos, president of KeySpan Energy New England, said additional details from the study will be presented at the start of the Democrats' convention. The goal, he said, is to communicate that Boston is no longer plagued by racial strife.

KeySpan employs 1,750 people in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Stavropoulos said the company has seen increases in its numbers of minority staff members. He did not have figures yesterday, however.

Page said the Partnership is also concerned that Boston's high cost of living may discourage minority college graduates from remaining after they receive their degrees. He said the organization will launch an initiative next month to reach out to minority students and introduce them to various professional and social opportunities before they graduate.

Concern about the loss of young professionals 20 to 34 years old stems, in part, from a 2003 study by the Boston Foundation and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce that cited a 15.8% decline in the number of young people in the city between 1990 and 2000. Nationally, that demographic group declined 5.4% in the same period.

The study also found that minorities in that age group were more likely to say that Boston had become more diverse and welcoming the longer they stayed, suggesting that outreach might help to boost the ranks of minority professionals even more.

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Recent events in the corporate world and Sarbanes-Oxley should have taught us at least one lesson: Good corporate governance begins with independence. It is well known that the most coveted board seats are, more often than not, filled by individuals with business and social interest in sync with that of their CEO and the other fellow board members. It would seem that this practice has, in part, led to less independence on those corporate boards. (It is very hard to vote to fire the CEO if you golf with him/her every Friday.)

Yet, it is the very diversity of experience that many minority board members can bring which can enhance corporate independence. Moreover, it makes good economic sense for corporations to embrace the emerging minority markets by seeking to understand and compete for those markets.

The conclusion is simple: Board diversity is board independence. I thank the Globe and Lewis for a well written article.

TERRENCE L. PARKER

Cambridge