Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg has named Joyce A. Murphy, MPA, executive vice chancellor of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine, to serve on the newly created Advisory Committee on Wage Equality.
“Pay equity is not a partisan issue, nor solely a women’s issue. It is a family issue, and it affects the economic health and well-being of our entire state,” Goldberg said in a statement. “This committee will develop concrete strategies and highlight best practices from both the private and public sectors so that the Commonwealth can address this critical economic issue and lead the nation in implementing wage equality initiatives.”
A bipartisan public-private partnership, the committee will advise Goldberg and the Office of Economic Empowerment in developing initiatives and forming partnerships with nonprofit and for-profit businesses committed to working toward wage equality. The committee will provide guidance on best practices and act as a liaison in developing these partnerships.
“It will be an honor to work with Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, Mayor Marty Walsh, and my fellow committee members on developing solutions for wage equity in Massachusetts,” Murphy said. “The Commonwealth’s fiscal strength is rooted in its wage earners, and closing the wage gap is crucial for economic vitality.”
The committee has a number of goals, including the development of a wage equality tool kit for businesses that want to enact equal pay; planning an April 2016 statewide conference to bring policymakers, businesses, and organizations together to share best practices to close the wage gap; organizing regional roundtables to get input from businesses on how to make a public-private partnership work; and launching a state-run equal pay website for employers and employees that will include the tool kit, a salary calculator, facts about the wage gap, and a pay equity FAQ page.
Goldberg will chair the committee and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, a leader on wage equity through his Women’s Workforce Council, will serve as the honorary chair. Former Lt. Gov. Evelyn Murphy, a national leader on wage equality, will serve as a senior advisor to the committee. The committee members are:
- Elizabeth Barajas-Roman, chief executive officer, Women’s Fund of Massachusetts
- U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark
- Catherine D’Amato, chief executive officer, Greater Boston Food Bank
- Carol Fulp, chief executive officer, The Partnership
- Dr. Kerry Healey, president, Babson College
- Gloria Cordes Larson, president, Bentley College
- Dr. Jeffrey Leiden, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
- Cathy Minehan, dean, Simmons School of Management
- J. Keith Motley, chancellor, UMass Boston
- Joyce A. Murphy, executive vice chancellor, Commonwealth Medicine, UMass Medical School
- James Roosevelt Jr., chief executive officer, Tufts Health Plan
- Henry Thomas III, president and chief executive officer, Urban League of Springfield, Inc.
- Steven A. Tolman, president, Massachusetts AFL-CIO
- Rev. Liz Walker
- Kate Walsh, president and chief executive officer, Boston Medical Center
- Beth Williams, president and chief executive officer, Roxbury Technology, LLC
Murphy assumed the senior-most executive role at Commonwealth Medicine in 2011, five years after joining UMass Medical School. Previously, she served as president and chief executive officer of Carney Hospital in Dorchester, founding president of St. Mary’s Center for Women and Children, and vice president of St. Margaret’s Hospital for Women.
Murphy serves on numerous boards and commissions, including the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission Advisory Council; the boards of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Curry College, and UHealthSolutions; and the Leadership Council of the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare.