Who We Are
The Boston Women’s Workforce Council (BWWC) leads a unique public-private partnership between the Boston Mayor and Greater Boston employers dedicated to eliminating gender and racial wage gaps. We do so by measuring, analyzing, and reporting on these gaps. In addition, we organize events for our members, 100% Talent Compact Signers, on best practices to reach pay equity. Researchers, advocates, and Compact Signers lead these sessions, providing opportunities for discussion and shared learning.
We believe if you don't see it, you can't change it.
The BWWC also includes an advisory council of Boston business and nonprofit leaders, who work every day to eliminate barriers to women’s advancement. Their expertise is vital to our organization’s strategy and the resources we share with our 100% Talent Compact Signer community.
Our Mission
The Boston Women's Workforce Council aims to raise awareness among and strengthen the commitment of Greater Boston employers to close gender and racial wage gaps in their organizations.
Our Vision
To eliminate all gender and racial wage gaps in Greater Boston, which can only be done through equal and fair advancement of women, particularly BIPOC women, to senior positions within organizations.
This effort will make Boston the best city for working women to live.
Pay Equity.
Equal Opportunity.
100% Talent.
Origins
In his State of the City address, the late Mayor Thomas M. Menino declared 2013 the “Year of the Woman.” In an effort to find a better way to advance women in the workplace, the Mayor brought together a group of prominent leaders and tasked them with this mission.
The group, now known as the Boston Women’s Workforce Council, concluded that closing the wage gap would not only have the most widespread impact on women in Boston, but also help to decrease the city’s poverty rate, bolster the local economy, and position Boston as a national leader in the workforce.
100% Talent Compact
Leveraging these drivers, the Council created the 100% Talent Compact to engage Boston’s local businesses and nonprofits in the effort to close the gender-based wage gap. Working both one-on-one and in coalition with Compact Signers and other like-minded organizations, the BWWC aims to raise consciousness about the disparity between women’s and men’s wages and encourage measurable actions toward women’s full and equal participation in the workforce. View a full list of Compact Signers here.
Enter MOWA
When Mayor Martin J. Walsh took office in January 2014, he brought with him a vision for advancing women in the City of Boston. Recognizing that women make up more than 50% of the City’s residents and labor force, Mayor Walsh created a new department, the Office of Women’s Advancement (MOWA) to recognize the value of working women.
MOWA was created to expand the impact and effectiveness of the Council and to oversee the full spectrum of issues pertaining to women. Their work focuses on four priority areas: childcare, economic equity, representation, and safety. The partnership between the BWWC and MOWA remains strong and inextricably linked today. Visit MOWA's website to learn more.
Today and Beyond
Today, in partnership with the Boston Mayor, the BWWC works with over 250 employers dedicated to eliminating gender and racial wage gaps and other challenges facing women in today’s workforce.
It will take enhanced collaboration, authenticity, and commitment to overcome the tangible and intangible barriers that hinder women’s advancement. The BWWC model offers just that, and our 100% Talent Compact Signers have heeded the call.
