Effective Practices Conference 2022 Brief — Boston Women's Workforce Council

CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BOSTON'S WEALTH GAP AND WAGE GAP: WHAT THIS MEANS FOR EMPLOYERS

A conversation on how gender and racial wage gaps are a primary driver of wealth disparities, affecting the ability to save for a home, retirement and/or education. We discussed what we, as employers, can do about it.

FULL RECORDING

Welcome Remarks

"The Boston Women’s Workforce Council believes the gender and racial wage gaps that plague our city are at the heart of this wealth gap."

- Kimberly Borman, Executive Director, Boston’s Women Workforce Council

remarks from mayor Michelle wu

“Participating in the [100% Talent Compact] doesn’t just provide critical data that drives our progress, it also sets a national standard for building an inclusive economy through equitable workplace leadership.”

-City of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu

Keynote address

We were honored to have Dr. M Lee Pelton give the keynote address at this year's Effective Practices Conference. Dr. Pelton is the CEO and President of The Boston Foundation, 100% Talent Compact Signer, one of the nation's leading philanthropic organizations. He will share how the organization's new strategic vision places equity at the core of its work to directly confront the challenges that lead to wage and wealth inequities.

“The distinction between equity and equality is an important one [....] Equality and equity are related but are very different concepts[….] Equality refers to equal inputs; equity refers to equal outputs. And the gap between equality and equity is opportunity.”

PANEL DISCUSSION and q&a

A panel followed the keynote exploring how employers can take action today to close the wage gap and, in turn, reduce the wealth gap. The conversation included insights from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and WTW's gender-based wealth equity research, released jointly in WEF's Global Gender Gap Report 2022. The panel featured:

Manjit Basi, Senior Director, Integrated & Global Solutions, WTW, 100% Talent Compact Signer; Contributor, World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022
Stephen Denny, Head of Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion, Putnam Investments
Cathy Minehan, Co-Chair, Boston Women’s Workforce Council (Moderator)
Dr. M Lee Pelton, CEO and President, The Boston Foundation

Notable quotes

“Any action is progress… we need more specific actions at the human level. For someone's life to be improved, it doesn’t have to change the world or all the corporate structures out there. Start small, think big. I am still very hopeful despite the challenges.”
- Manjit Basi
“We were doing some great things before, but joining the Talent Compact, really sent us in the direction of how we can try to begin to create equity within our organization.”
- Stephen Denny

BWWC 2022 ANNUAL REPORT

Our 2022 Annual Report highlights the vital work 100% Talent Compact Signers are doing to address barriers to advancement identified at their organizations. We hope the report increases the sharing of best practices and helps identify ideas your organization could try in your fight for pay equity.