In October 1982, I was the only female partner in the Boston office. Today, we have one of the highest percentage of women partners of any PwC office.
So how did women get to be so well represented in the highest ranks of the firm in Boston?
On the surface, you might point to our New England client base. This area of the country has a very high proportion of businesses in the fields of education, healthcare and financial services. These are businesses where women enjoy a high level of recognition.
But my 25+ years of experience with the firm has shown me that there is a lot more to the story than this. I'm convinced other factors have converged in a very positive way for women here and for the firm as a whole.
I would love to say that all the credit belongs to the firm, as it has grown tremendously in the past two decades. But that's only part of the equation. The women here are phenomenal. Real powerhouses. They're smart, ambitious and disciplined. They are consummate professionals who not only wanted success, but also worked extremely hard to achieve it. They are involved in many tremendously important community organizations: The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, the Boys and Girls Club, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Even more amazing, 20 of us are parents, and one will be a parent very soon.
The women of the Boston office are a uniquely dynamic group, so we brought their stories to life in a book of personal perspectives on the firm. The book, Careers. Challenges. Choices. Insight from Boston Women Partners, is a collection of quotes from and profiles of the female partners. Our goal was to showcase many of the varied role models that comprise this group of successful women. We also wanted to capture our thoughts on a series of questions with particular relevance for women as they consider their lives and careers at PwC. Questions like, "What were the greatest contributors to your success?" and "What would you do differently in your career if you could?"
The responses to these questions have common themes, but also different and sometimes contradictory views that reflect the diversity of who we are.
When you look at their stories case by case, they are a powerful statement about the culture of the firm. It's a statement to people within PwC, to its clients and to the industry. (And yes, it would be a huge disservice not to share it with female candidates considering a career here.)
As I've believed all along, the future for women at the firm is a bright one - both in Boston and in all our other U.S. locations.
perspectives
Sam DiPiazza, Global Chairman:
"Our stock-in-trade is knowledge: advice, ideas, and opinions. To arrive at the innovative solutions our world-class clients expect from us, we need a supportive work environment that is inclusive, flexible and respectful, where individual differences are valued and leveraged."
