Beth Chandler Is Named Permanent Head of YW Boston

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Beth Chandler has a long career working on social justice. Before YW Boston, she worked at other nonprofits, including as vice president at Achievement Network, which helps urban schools improve student performance.

 

Beth Chandler has been filling big shoes for almost a year, serving as interim chief executive of YW Boston after its longtime leader, Sylvia Ferrell-Jones, retired last September and died of cancer soon after.

Now Chandler has been named the permanent head of the venerable Boston organization, founded 152 years ago as the first YWCA in the country. Announced Tuesday, the appointment coincides with an effort by YW Boston to focus its efforts on gender and racial inclusivity in the workplace.

The Back Bay organization has reduced its programming from six broad areas to three targeted initiatives focused on promoting workplace equality.

“Our previous focus was really thinking broadly around eliminating racism and helping women. All the programs were effective but we couldn’t have too large of an impact on the city because we were spread too thin,” said Chandler, who has worked at YW Boston for almost six years.

Chandler has a long career working on social justice. Before YW Boston, she worked at several nonprofits, including as vice president at Achievement Network, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping urban schools improve student performance, and as deputy director at the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, which provides low-income residents with legal help.

The new initiative at YW Boston include the Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity, which help businesses and other organizations more deeply understand racial and ethnicity issues through discussion sessions. Chandler said this program helps people participate constructively in conversations about race and helps foster an environment that propels women and people of color into leadership roles.

A study by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. analyzed 366 public companies and found that organizations in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to see their earnings surpass national industry medians.

“Millennials are looking for inclusive work environments,” she said. “If a company wants to compete moving forward, they need to help people understand how to communicate and understand differences across race and ethnicities.”

Other initiatives include the LEADBoston program, which helps mid- to senior-level leaders better understand social justice issues affecting the city, and the Youth Leadership Initiative, which educates high school students about social justice and develops them into young leaders.

The organization plans to pilot a fourth program next summer focused on gender in the workplace.

Chandler said she hopes to increase the organization’s visibility by demonstrating the effectiveness of these programs through quantitative data and testimony from participating companies.

“I want this organization to thrive,” she said. “I hope [participating] companies will be able to show an increase in leadership over time for groups that are significantly underrepresented in leadership positions.”

Allison Hagan can be reached at allison.hagan@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @allisonhxgan.

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