Governor Ned Lamont and Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz today announced that ten major private-sector companies doing business in Connecticut have signed onto the Paradigm for Parity pledge – a nationwide coalition of businesses committing to achieving gender parity in the leadership of their respective corporations over the next ten years.
The companies signing the pledge include:
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals
- Cigna
- CVS Health (including Aetna)
- Eversource Energy
- Frontier Communications
- KeyCorp/KeyBank
- Stanley Black and Decker
- Synchrony Financial
- The Hartford
- UTC
“Having a state where women can thrive means having workplaces where women can thrive, and I am beyond excited about the number of companies in Connecticut who are committed to inclusion,” Governor Ned Lamont said. “Connecticut is home to the best educated, most talented workers in the nation, and there’s no reason why women should not be represented in every aspect of our workforce. I applaud these companies for their joining us in our efforts to increase gender equity.”
“While women make up nearly half of the workforce in the United States, there are currently only 36 women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies,” Lt. Governor Bysiewicz said. “I applaud these companies for actively working towards fighting gender inequality in corporate leadership and for leading by example as the first ten companies in our state to sign the Paradigm for Parity Pledge. This is a critical step towards closing the gender pay gap and ensuring that all women working in our state have equal opportunities for success.”
Last year, Governor Lamont and Lt. Governor Bysiewicz invited several corporations in Connecticut to join the Corporate Leadership Circle (CLC) in support of the priorities of the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls. Of the 22 CLC companies, Frontier Communications, KeyCorp/KeyBank, Synchrony Financial, and UTC had previously signed onto the Paradigm for Parity Pledge. As chair of the CLC, Lt. Governor Bysiewicz worked with previous signatories to introduce the pledge to other CLC companies, resulting in six additional companies signing onto the pledge.
“We applaud Governor Lamont and Lt. Governor Bysiewicz for embracing the Paradigm for Parity coalition and encouraging companies in Connecticut to commit to closing the gender gap in corporate leadership,” Sandra Beach Lin, co-chair of the Paradigm for Parity coalition, said. “These ten Connecticut companies, along with the more than 100 other coalition companies, are leading the way in using the coalition’s five-point action plan to ensure that women of all races, cultures and backgrounds have the opportunity to succeed and thrive in the workplace. We welcome the opportunity to partner with governors around the country to engage companies in their states and level the playing field for women in the corporate world.”
Support from business leaders
Stanley Black & Decker President and CEO Jim Loree: “I truly believe in the power of inclusion and I am committed to creating a workplace at Stanley Black & Decker where women can thrive Gender diversity in leadership and across our full workforce is essential to helping us achieve our bold business ambitions and is an essential component of our company’s purpose – For Those Who Make The World. We are proud to partner with the Paradigm for Parity movement to accelerate the pace of achieving gender parity both in our company and around the world.”
Susan Stith, Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion, Foundation & Civic Affairs at the Cigna Foundation: “At Cigna, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive and equitable culture where employees can thrive – in support of our mission to transform healthcare. Knowing that 60 percent of people entering the health care field today are women, it is especially important that we continue to recruit, develop and advance talented women all over the world. We are proud to join the Paradigm for Parity alongside these other great Connecticut companies and Governor Lamont, as we all work together to increase the representation of women in leadership roles.”
Eversource Vice President of Government Affairs Peg Morton: “We’re pleased to support Governor Lamont and Lt. Governor Bysiewicz’s initiative regarding gender equality in the corporate world by 2030. Given Eversource’s firm commitment to diversity and inclusion, and empowering our employees and future female leaders in our industry, it’s a natural fit for us to endorse this effort and we’re proud to be a Paradigm for Parity signatory.”
KeyBank Connecticut Market President James Barger: “KeyBank’s diversity and inclusion efforts are fundamental to how we run our business and to our company’s culture. We are strongly committed to the principle of gender equity, and are proud to stand with all these other like-minded, values-based companies of Connecticut as a signatory of the Paradigm for Parity Pledge. Our voice is more powerful when it is a collective voice, and we gladly join our voice to yours in support of this important initiative.”
David Casey, Vice President of Workforce Strategies & Chief Diversity Officer, CVS Health: “As we work to create the world’s most consumer-centric health care company, we know the innovation and disruptive strategy we need will come from having diverse leaders who represent the patients and customers we serve. We joined Paradigm for Parity because we are committed to addressing the gender gap in corporate leadership – not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because our business strategy depends on it.”
Nancy Di Dia, Executive Director, Americas, Head, Diversity, Inclusion, Culture & Engagement, Boehringer Ingelheim: “Boehringer Ingelheim is proud to join the Paradigm for Parity initiative. We share common aspirations with the Paradigm for Parity and look forward to learning from other employers, sharing best practices and finding new ways to approach common challenges. This topic is relevant to all industries and by working with leaders from across the state, we are certain we can all build on our progress. We applaud Governor Lamont and Lt. Governor Bysiewicz for forming the Council on Women’s and Girls and introducing us to the Paradigm for Parity.”