Nice work if you can get it

Pros & Cons dabbles in a bit of politics today, if only because "serving on the board" is a phrase so widely misunderstood by the public at large.

I served on the board of the local United Way for a time, and on the board of the local chapter of Literacy Volunteers, as well as on the board of a local history museum, and it was all public service.

As you might guess if you've read this blog for very long, I enjoyed being on the board of the museum, where I got to be part of an effort to shape what is now a popular annual War of 1812 re-enactment. But all I received in return was a plate at the pig roast being served to the British troops and free access to the summer concerts in the barn.

I also got to play Alex Trebek in the main court of the mall for the finals of the Literacy Volunteers annual trivia bowl.

Either of which was more compensation than I got in return for serving on the United Way board.

I think enough people have had that sort of experience, or known people who have, that, when they hear that J.P. Fatcat sits on the board of such-and-such a business, think-tank or bank, they imagine that he does so to promote his own visibility, of course, but also out of concern for the future of the industry and his country.

That would be quite a demand on his time, unless, as Kieran Meehan's shrink suggests, it's really more of a temptation.

According to this source, the average compensation for a director is currently $61,000 a year, but the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported last year that "the average public company board member was paid $126,398 to serve on a single board of directors in Wisconsin last year, more than three times the average wage for a Wisconsin worker. Many serve on more than one board, and 20 serve on four or more public company boards."

This is more than simply a matter of jealousy, though I wouldn't mind having that kind of bread slipped into my pocket for attending nine meetings a year, at least one of which was likely a "retreat" with all expenses paid.

But these boards are also, as the JS report suggests, a Good Old Boy Club in which you gather the usual suspects and they tend to agree with whatever the man at the head of the table proposes. This is how the one-percent keep their interests vested.

Something else I came across confirms this, though I hesitate to quote it because it is out of date. But a Chicago Tribune story from 1994 indicated that "women and minorities still lag far behind white males in representation on corporate boards.   Women hold only 7 percent of the total positions. Overall, 96 percent of directors are white, and 89 percent are older than 45, the survey found, while 58 percent are older than 55.  On large boards, such as those common in the health care industry, women fill 13 percent of directorships."

I'm willing to believe those numbers have improved in nearly 20 years, but I'd be astonished to learn that they had reached parity with the general population. I'd be even more astonished to find that the newcomers had achieved their positions by any other means than parrotting the operating style that got the traditional Old Boys their gigs in the first place.

Tout ça change, baby, tout ça change.

I'd be more astonished even than that to learn that the average person walking the street has any idea how fat the fat cats really are, and how they get that way.

(And now for something completely different: A video to relieve the earworm implanted by today's headline, featuring the Chairman of the Board.)

 

Comments

[Nostalgic]

Great video choice! Not only is the song appropriate and the talent undeniable, but you can just see Frankie acting like it's an assignment, and making pretty much no effort.