2023 marks an important milestone for Executive Alliance. Since 1993, Executive Alliance, formerly known as Network 2000, has been a catalyst for women leaders in the greater Baltimore area. It is a critical part of our mission to expand women’s impact and influence in the board room, the community, and in the leadership of businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government commissions. We achieve this mission partly by measuring the progress women have made through our Annual Census Report of Women Board Directors in Maryland, which was released March 23 at our Honor Roll event.

A lot has changed in Maryland and the business community since we began measuring and reporting on the representation of women on the boards of public companies headquartered in Maryland. Although the pace of change can be frustrating, women have made incredible strides towards gender parity. However, we need to remember that not all women have benefited equally. Examining the 75 publicly traded companies in Maryland, Executive Alliance found that Maryland companies significantly lag behind national averages for gender diversity for new board members. New independent directors in Maryland are 33% female versus 45% female for new Fortune 500 directors. We continue to see women of color lag behind white women in terms of board representation. There are bright spots – of the women named as new directors to publicly-traded companies, 32% are women of color. New Maryland directors are not as diverse when it comes to race and ethnicity as national averages.

As Executive Alliance enters its 30th year, we look with a renewed emphasis on empowering and diversifying Maryland’s executive leadership to provide paths to women’s leadership and growth. At the Honor Roll event, we celebrated 43 companies and organizations in Maryland who put values into action by having at least 30% of their executive team and board directors identify as women. Read more about these companies here and see more about the event here. New this year, we accepted applications from private companies and non-profits who met the 30% threshold. To apply for next year’s Honor Roll award, please visit here.