Women in Leadership
Recruiting, Retaining, & Promoting Women into Leadership Responsibilities“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.”
Guiding Successful Efforts in Recruiting, Retaining, & Promoting Women into Leadership Responsibilities Across Our Organizations
For more than 45 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
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.
Sponsors & Partners
2023 Innovation Sponsor
Supported By
Knowledge & Content Partners
Recent Women in Leadership Programs
Building Resilience & Self Awareness Through Mindfulness Training
Member-only training led by Bentley University’s Center for Women in Business, with support from PTC
January 18, 2023
90-minute introductory workshop focused on the business case for the benefits of mindfulness practice for long-term success and resilience at work and in life, led by Bentley Associate Professor of Management, Effie Stavrulaki, Ph.D.
Women in the Workplace: The State of Women in Corporate America
Co-hosted by PTC and Knowledge Partner McKinsey & Company
December 13, 2022
Featured Experts:
- Megan Greenfield, Ph.D., Partner, McKinsey & Company
- Linda Rossetti, Renowned author and expert on transitions
- Renee Connolly, Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer, MilliporeSigma / Merck KGaA
- Catherine Kniker, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, PTC
- Grace Lee, Regional President & Group Lead, M&T Bank
Executive Roundtable on Burnout & Mental Health in the Workplace
Member-only executive discussion, supported by PTC and facilitated by Bentley University’s Center for Women and Business (CWB).
November 1, 2022
Facilitated by CWB Executive Director Yaro Fong-Olivares.
Employee Burnout & Mental Health: Unique Impacts on Women in the New Workplace
Co-hosted by PTC and Knowledge Partner McKinsey & Company
September 20, 2022
Featured Experts:
- Kana Enomoto, Senior Knowledge Expert; Director, Brain Health for the McKinsey Health Institute, McKinsey & Company
- Joanne T. Ayoub, Vice President of Human Resources, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Jenna Smith, Director, North America Marketing, PTC
- Louisa G. Sylvia, Ph.D., Associate Director, Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation; Director, Office of Women’s Careers, Mass General Hospital; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
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