Eliminating the Wealth Gap in Boston
On August 27th, the Boston Women’s Workforce Council in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office for Women’s Advancement hosted a virtual panel discussion to discuss the wage and wealth gap in Boston. Crystal Haynes, journalist and reporter from Boston 25 News, moderated a panel that included:
Karilyn Crockett, Chief of Equity, City of Boston
Prabal Chakrabarti, Senior Vice President, Regional and Community Outreach Department, Federal Reserve Bank Boston
Raquel Webster, Senior Counsel, National Grid
Cathy Minehan, Co-Chair, Boston Women’s Workforce Council
Some highlights from the panel discussion included:
As the new Chief of Equity for the City of Boston, Karilyn Crockett spoke about her vision for her new role and how the City of Boston can work to mitigate the wage gap and racial disparities. In her words, “When we think about what the numbers are telling us, particularly for all women and women of color, the disparities that we’re seeing in terms of pay equity are astonishing, unethical and just not right,”
Prabal Chakrabarti presented highlights from the 2015 Wealth Gap study conducted by the Boston Fed. The study laid bare the chasm between White families v. Black and Hispanic families in regards to the wealth gap.
A great deal of discussion centered around potential employer solutions and committing to the 100% Talent Compact. Driven by the BWWC, employers commit to share the employee data that enables the BWWC to measure progress as well as sharing the work they are doing internally to drive change.
A robust question and answer session covered topics including child care, education, student loans and reparations.
To view the entire panel discussion, see below.
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