Ten of Connecticut’s largest employers, including The Hartford, Eversource Energy and Cigna, have pledged to strive for gender parity in their C-suites, state officials say.
The companies on Friday signed the so-called Paradigm for Parity pledge, which is a nationwide coalition of private companies committing to make hiring changes to close the gender gap in corporate leadership, Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz announced Friday afternoon.
The other companies signing the pledge include CVS Health/Aetna, United Technologies Corp., Stanley Black and Decker, Frontier Communications, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, KeyCorp./KeyBank and Synchrony Financial.
UTC, Frontier Communications, KeyCorp./KeyBank and Synchrony Financial had previously signed onto the pledge.
Despite women making up almost half of the nation’s workforce, Bysiewicz on Friday questioned why there are only 36 women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
“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,” she said in a statement.
The 10 Connecticut companies will join more than 100 others in the coalition focused on ensuring that “women of all races, cultures and backgrounds have the opportunity to succeed and thrive in the workplace,” said Paradigm for Parity co-chair Sandra Beach Lin.
“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,” Beach Lin said.
Last year, Lamont’s administration recruited executives from 22 major companies to serve on the Corporate Leadership Circle (CLC) panel meant to address the needs of women and girls.
Bysiewicz, serving as chair of CLC, said she used the new panel to welcome new companies to the coalition.
