Women in Leadership
“The Massachusetts High Technology Council’s Women in Leadership Initiative is a strong example of impactful collaboration among leaders from Massachusetts businesses, professional services and academic centers. Its ‘leaders helping leaders’ model to identify and expand effective employer practices presents a uniquely promising opportunity for employers to participate in helping solve an important challenge: closing the leadership gap between men and women in the workplace, and I encourage organizations across the Commonwealth to participate in this initiative.”
— Massachusetts Lt. Governor Karyn Polito
Guiding Successful Efforts in Recruiting, Retaining, & Promoting Women into Leadership Responsibilities Across Our Organizations
For more than 44 years, the High Tech Council has successfully advocated in support of a variety of education and talent development policies and programs that support the workforce requirements of our tech and innovation economy. Since 2016, the Council has partnered with McKinsey & Company and reacHIRE to discuss the implications of research that tracks changes in the number of women represented at various points along the career path.
In early 2019, Council directors launched the Women in Leadership Initiative to guide successful efforts in recruiting, retaining, and promoting women into leadership responsibilities across our organizations by building a menu of specific practices and/or recommendations in the following categories:
Data, framing the business case, and measuring success
Best employee recruiting, retaining, and promoting practices
Workplace culture, organization’s leadership engagement
Off-the-record “Best Practice” round table discussions
Since 2020, Council member PTC has served as the Annual Sponsor of the Women in Leadership Initiative and to date over 100 organizations have participated in WIL Initiative events and roundtables.
March 27, 2019: Dave Krupinski (Care.com), Kathleen Mitford (PTC), Chris Anderson (MHTC), Laurie Leshin (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), and Jacquie Moloney (UMASS Lowell)
Signature Member-Only Experiences
Women in Leadership Group Mentoring Program
This year, the Council proudly launched an innovative WIL Group Mentoring Program to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging in our community while creating more meaningful connections within our membership base. It is a structured, supported group mentoring experience created to help bridge the gap for early/mid-career mentees who are employees of MHTC member companies and who self-identify as women.
Organized mentoring programs provide countless benefits to mentees AND mentors—from increased employee satisfaction, personal and professional growth, and leadership development, to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and opportunity efforts. This program is a structured, supported group mentoring experience. Matching is purposefully done, drawing groups of two mentors and four mentees together from different companies to increase confidentiality. The program includes formal training and information and ongoing support from an experienced liaison to enable all participants to gain the most value from the experience.
Leaders for the Future
Over 50 senior-level women from 25 MHTC member organizations participated in Leaders for the Future, a two-part cutting-edge training program focused on business strategy development and driving innovation offered exclusively to our members. Owned and operated by McKinsey & Company, with support from WIL Sponsor PTC, participants learned and practiced proven tools from the world’s most future-forward leaders and thinkers to see the art of the possible and to create new value from business model innovation.
Unlocking the Potential of Women
In 2020, more than 165 participants from 25 Council member organizations participated in “Unlocking the Potential of Women,” a six-week virtual learning experience to empower leaders to recognize and deliver the full potential of women in the workplace. The Council’s Women in Leadership Initiative, together with knowledge partner, McKinsey & Co., have come together to provide this special free offer exclusively to Council members.
Get Involved
We invite you to join us and become engaged in the Women in Leadership Initiative. Please contact Chris Anderson for more information. Visit the Council’s Events page to learn more about upcoming WIL events.
2022 Annual Sponsor
Supported By
Knowledge & Content Partners
Women in the Workplace: Bold Steps to Address Burnout & the Broken Rung
Co-hosted by PTC and McKinsey & Co., with support from content partners reacHIRE and Bentley University, and sponsors Azenta Life Sciences, MilliporeSigma, and Onto Innovation.
December 1, 2021
Featuring:
- Opening Remarks from Catherine Kniker, Chief Strategy Officer & EVP, PTC
- Key Findings and Themes from the Women in the Workplace 2021 Report: Presented by Megan Greenfield, Ph.D. Partner, McKinsey & Company
- Executive-Level Fireside Chat, moderated by Dr. Greenfield featuring:
- Aron Ain, Chairman & CEO, UKG
- Rebecca Schechter, CEO, Optum Behavioral Health at Optum
- Bonus Q&A Session with the featured speakers
Women in Leadership Fireside Chat: How to Engage Women & Turn the “Great Resignation” into the “Great Retention”
Co-hosted by reacHIRE and PTC
October 7, 2021
Moderated by reacHIRE CEO Addie Swartz, the Fireside Chat Featured:
- Heather Bender, Vice President of Talent, iRobot
- Sharra Owens-Schwartz, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Senior Director, Rocket Software
Diversity, Equity & Opportunity Webinar: A Systematic Approach to Talent Management for Women & URMs
A combined BRE & WIL program, co-hosted by 2021 WIL Sponsor PTC, Knowledge Partner McKinsey & Company, 2021 BRE Sponsor Waters Corp., & Strategic Partner Bain & Company
September 9, 2021
Featuring:
- Keynote address by Belinda Hyde, Ph.D., SVP & Chief Human Resources Officer, Waters Corp.
- Panel discussion moderated by PTC’s Chief Diversity Officer & Corporate Social Responsibility Leader Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller, featuring:
- Andy Youniss, President & CEO, Rocket Software
- Burunda Prince, Chief Operating Officer, Russell Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
- Kenya Jacobs, Director of Diversity & Inclusion, Trane Technologies
Women in the Workplace 2020: A Critical Crossroads
Co-hosted by McKinsey & Co, reacHIRE and PTC
December 3, 2020
Featuring:
- Key Findings and Themes from the Women in the Workplace 2020 Report: Presented by Megan Greenfield, Ph.D., Partner, McKinsey & Company
- Building Blocks To Success: Remarks from Ann Klee, Executive Vice President of Business Development, Suffolk Construction
- Deterring the Downshift: An executive-level discussion led by Addie Swartz, CEO of reacHIRE with panelists:
- Scott Couto, EVP & Head of North America, Columbia Threadneedle Investments
- Kristen Robinson Darcy, Chief Operating Officer, Fidelity Charitable
- Jennifer Reilly, Chief Human Resources Officer, MKS Instruments
- Jane Steinmetz, Boston Office Managing Principal, EY
Women in Leadership Roundtable: Unconscious Bias—Advancing an Inclusive Workplace
Co-hosted by PTC, led by Bentley University
September 23, 2020
Featuring:
- Jim Heppelmann, President & CEO, PTC
- Kathleen Mitford, EVP, Chief Strategy Officer, PTC
- Stephen Denny, Head of Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion, Putnam Investments
- Nellie Borrero, Managing Director-Senior Global Inclusion & Diversity Lead, Accenture
Women in Leadership Roundtable: Managing It All—Career, Family & Community
Co-hosted by MilliporeSigma, led by McKinsey & Co.
July 27, 2020
Moderated by Renee Connolly, Head of Communications for MilliporeSigma, the virtual roundtable featured:
- Jill Zucker, Managing Partner of McKinsey’s New York Office & leader of McKinsey’s North American Women’s Initiative
- Kathryn Vasel, Senior Writer, CNN Business