Performances + Events
New England Conservatory on Friday was honored for its inclusion among the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts. The award, bestowed by The Women’s Edge in partnership with The Boston Globe, “(recognizes) the women power players driving the Massachusetts economy.” The 100 companies on the list contributed $141 billion to the state’s economy in 2024. This is the 25th year the awards have been presented.
“The Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts list,” The Women’s Edge explains, “factors in revenue, as well as workplace diversity, innovation and customer benefits.” This is the third time NEC was nominated for and made the list. The Women’s Edge “supports systematic, sustained progress for women into leadership roles throughout the business community,” the organization’s CEO, Elizabeth Hailer, has said.
“New England Conservatory is a dynamic creative laboratory in which leadership is cultivated through the impassioned pursuit of artistic excellence, the supportive spirit of community and collaboration, and a collective commitment to sharing with the wider world the transformative power of music,” NEC President Andrea Kalyn said. “NEC is proud to once again be included on this impressive list of Massachusetts businesses, and grateful to the many dedicated and innovative women who lead our work across the institution.”
Women comprise 73 percent of NEC’s management team and 52 percent of employees, overall. And women comprise 45 percent of the Conservatory’s trustees.
Women’s Edge Chair Pamela Reeve said “innovation is found in every aspect” of the companies that were honored on Friday. “These leaders have a reason to be optimistic about the future, because they are making it every day.” Other speakers included Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and Deesha Dyer, who delivered the event’s keynote address.
Dyer, who serves as president of the social-impact consulting firm Hook & Fasten and is a former White House Social Secretary, told awardees, “The things you build will benefit and help others,” and said, “This is my challenge and my charge to you: Leave here believing you already have all you need to make a difference.”
The list of Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts appears in the October 26 “Women & Power” issue of Boston Globe Magazine.
