Boston Women's Workforce Council hosts second annual Best Practices Conference

BOSTON - Friday, September 30, 2016 - Reaffirming his commitment to making Boston the best place in the country for working women, Mayor Walsh today took part in the Boston Women's Workforce Council's (BWWC) second annual Best Practices Conference. More than 200 participants representing the 165 signers of the 100% Talent Compact attended today's conference, where they participated in roundtable discussions focused on best practices, guided by pro-bono facilitators from McKinsey & Co. The conference featured more than 20 CEOs and senior executives from leading businesses and organizations in the greater Boston area dedicated to closing the pay gap.

The Boston Women's Workforce Council is a public-private partnership between the City of Boston, the business community and Simmons College, which seeks to eliminate the gender wage gap through employer-informed, data-driven change. Since forming in 2013, 165 companies have joined the BWWC to sign the "Boston: 100% Talent Compact," committing themselves toevaluating - and taking concrete steps to close - the wage gap at their organizations.

"Ensuring pay equity in the City of Boston has been a priority for me since taking office," said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. "I want to thank all the companies that have signed onto the 100% Talent Compact -- and I want to stress that this conference is about taking action. Together, we can work to create real change. It is important for the City of Boston, and all our residents, that we continue to empower women and fight for equal pay for equal work."

Starting off today's conference were BWWC co-chairs Cathy Minehan, former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and most recently Dean of the Simmons College School of Management, and Evelyn Murphy, former Lieutenant Governor and President and Founder of The WAGE Project.

"Our new source of data, reported by companies in the greater Boston area that want to solve the problem of wage equity, combined with those companies sharing best practices, will move Boston to the forefront of US cities in making the best use of its talent," said Minehan.

Shari Slate, Vice President, Chief Inclusion and Collaboration Officer at Cisco gave the keynote address, sharing Cisco's experience with prioritizing pay equity in every aspect of the company, the steps they took to analyze their data and lessons learned as a signer of the White House Pay Equity Pledge, modeled after the work done in Boston.

The best practices shared at today's conference will be included in a report out later this fall, which will also highlight the findings of the first ever data collection conducted by the BWWC last May.

Roundtable Discussion Hosts:

• Eddie Ahmed, Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at MassMutual
• Jim Boyle, CEO & Chairman of Sustainability Roundtable
• Lisa Brothers, Chairman & CEO of Nitsch Engineering
• Peter Curran, Chief of Human Resources at Putnam Investments
• Sandra Fenwick, President & CEO of Boston Children's Hospital
• Sylvia Ferrell-Jones, President & CEO of YW Boston
• Carol Fulp, CEO of The Partnership
• Jay Gonzalez, President & CEO of Celticare
• Shira Goodman, CEO of Staples
• Kerry Healey, President of Babson College
• Joanne K. Hilferty, President & CEO of Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries
• Dr. Thomas Lynch, CEO of Mass General Physicians Organization
• Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan MD, MBA, President & CEO of Dimock
• Jodie Morrison, CEO & President of Tokai Pharmaceuticals
• G. Michael Palladino, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Vertex Pharmaceuticals
• Robert Petrucelli, President & CEO of Associated General Contractors of Mass
• Collette A.M Phillips, President & CEO of Colette Phillips Communications
• Pam Randhawa, CEO & Founder of Empiriko
• James E. Rooney, President & CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
• Jerry Rubin, President & CEO of Jewish Vocational Services
• Marilyn Swartz-Lloyd, President & CEO of MASCO

About the Office of Women's Advancement

The Office of Women's Advancement is an embodiment of Mayor Walsh's commitment to advancing and supporting women in Boston. We provide a permanent, effective voice for all female residents of Boston by working inclusively with public, private, and nonprofit partners on key issues that significantly affect women and girls. Our mission is to advocate for equal opportunity for women in all arenas of our city. We provide educational opportunities for women that emphasize economic equality, and the health and safety of all women.

About the Boston Women's Workforce Council

The Boston Women's Workforce Council's mission is to work with the businesses in the Greater Boston area in a private-public endeavor to eliminate the gender wage gap, remove the visible and invisible barriers to women's advancement, and ensure that 100% of the talent pool is used to make Boston the best area in the country for working women.