The Pinnacle Awards is the premier event for women in business, and honors incredible leading women for their outstanding contributions to the workplace and commitment to enhancing the quality of life in the region.
01/27/2023
11:00am - 1:30pm
Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport
Stay connected with Boston's entrepreneur, business, and innovation community! This event is hosted in partnership with Innovation Studio.
02/13/2023
8:30am - 10:30am
Roxbury Innovation Center
Join City Awake for our first social experience event of 2023!
02/27/2023
4:45pm - 8:00pm
Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
Our Economic Inclusion Committee provides strategic support around research, policies, and programs that are focused on building equal opportunity.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.
09/12/2023 -
09/15/2023
Greater Boston
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For more than 25 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
Through MITX (the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange), we’re building valuable connections between the people and ideas behind technology and its impact on the future of customer experiences, all to create a community that’s finding tomorrow’s solutions together.
We support small business through public policy initiatives, events designed to connect small businesses in Greater Boston to their peers and established business leaders, professional development offerings, and free small business advising.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
Supporting MBEs is necessary to advance our local economy, close the wealth gap, and build strong, sustainable supply chains. The Pacesetters Initiative seeks to provide insights and exposure for MBEs at all stages of development and capacity levels to enhance the engagement with our Pacesetter companies and their opportunities. By advancing supplier diversity, procurement practices and spend with MBEs through insights and exposure, Pacesetters can become a runway for economic inclusion and closing the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston and the Commonwealth.
Our Doing Business with... webinars give MBEs the chance to learn directly from procurement officers at Pacesetter corporations.
Berkshire Bank understands the importance of a diverse third-party base as partners in the achievement of their operational goals. They are committed to fostering relationships with qualified, and when available, diverse third parties. Berkshire Bank, to the maximum extent possible, ensures the fair inclusion and utilization of minority-owned, women-owned, and traditionally under-represented third parties in our procurement of products and services. They encourage their employees to seek out third parties who operate in a manner consistent with their Be FIRST values and Third-Party Responsible Business Principles outlined in the Responsible & Sustainable Business Policy. Watch the Video Read the Summary
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Program encourages competition in their procurement process and promotes economic health in the communities they serve. To support the growth of diverse business enterprises, the Supplier Diversity Program emphasizes the following practices: Inclusion—Developing policies that infuse supplier diversity into all stages of the procurement process. For example, at least one diverse business must compete in all bids or request for proposals (RFPs). Strategic Sourcing—Identify certified Minority, Women, Veteran, or LGBT-owned businesses and verifying that they have the experience and expertise to satisfy our business needs. Business Development—Providing minority and women-owned businesses access to mentors and consultants skilled at positioning small companies to effectively compete for contracts with large corporations. Tier 2—Encouraging our network of consultants, contactors, and suppliers to make good faith efforts to subcontract certified Minority, Women, Veteran, or LGBT-owned businesses. Watch the Video Read the Summary
Boston Children's Hospital is fully committed to providing equal opportunity to all qualified diverse suppliers to compete and participate in the sourcing and procurement process, subject to the established policies and procedures. Boston Children's Hospital will facilitate tangible contract opportunities that will mutually add value to the hospital, their stakeholders, and the businesses that participate in their program. Boston Children's Hospital's procurement strategy is essential to supporting their mission. Watch the Video Read the Summary
The Boston Red Sox are committed to providing the maximum practical opportunity to diverse businesses as we evaluate potential providers of goods and services. The Boston Red Sox Supplier Registration Portal will facilitate the sourcing of potential diverse suppliers by providing The Boston Red Sox buyers with on-line access to detailed supplier capability profiles. Watch the Video Read the Summary
Comcast NBCUniversal’s supplier diversity program offers every business, regardless of ownership or size, an opportunity to compete for business within our company. It is designed to promote, increase, and improve the participation of small and diversity-owned businesses in their supply chain. Additionally, they create economic opportunities more broadly across the supplier ecosystem via subcontracting. Comcast NBCUniversal understands diversity is the foundation for innovation. Watch the Video Read the Summary
The SDO’s mission is to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in state contracting for businesses owned by minorities, women, Portuguese, veterans, service-disabled veterans, those with a disability, and LGBT individuals, as well as small Massachusetts businesses. The SDO certifies these businesses and manages several programs that help them enhance their marketability when bidding on public contracts. Watch the Video Read the Summary
Eastern Bank’s commitment to inclusion is to approach business challenges by involving all relevant partners, enabling unique perspectives, and fostering effective communication. Eastern Bank knows that the strength behind the company is the diverse background and perspectives of its people. They believe that a team of people with different perspectives can have a richer discussion, consider more and different ideas, and have greater success at solving complex problems than a group of people who all come from the same perspective. Watch the Video Read the Summary
Fidelity believes diversity is a business imperative. In today’s rapidly changing landscape, consumers, suppliers, and businesses represent diverse backgrounds, experiences, and values. As a customer obsessed company, Fidelity believes their suppliers should reflect that. Watch the Video Read the Summary
Gilbane encourages Small Business Enterprise (SBE), Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) participation on all their projects – regardless of funding requirements. Local business involvement is maximized without sacrificing quality, time, or cost. Gilbane makes this team effort happen by working closely with each owner to establish local inclusion goals within each their building program. Watch the Video Read the Summary
John Hancock places importance on maintaining a diverse supplier base that provides a broad range of perspectives, skills, and experiences, in addition to quality and cost effectiveness. As part of their commitment, John Hancock is a member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC), Pacesetters (part of the Boston Chamber of Commerce), National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA), Disability: IN and the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). John Hancock’s diverse supplier base recognizes the importance of businesses owned by minorities, women, LGBT, people with disabilities, veterans, and service-disabled veterans. Watch the Video Read the Summary
MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth. Through these collaborations MassDevelopment helps create jobs, increase the number of housing units, revitalize urban environments, and address factors limiting economic growth including transportation, energy, and infrastructure deficiencies. Watch the Video Read the Summary
Created in 2004, Mass General Brigham’s Supplier Diversity Program was established to extend their mission of community outreach and involve an increasingly more diverse group of suppliers to participate in procurement. By diversifying the supply base, Mass General Brigham connects with an emerging market and give back to the communities in which they operate. With more than 3,000 certified/categorized historically under-served businesses, Mass General Brigham is a leader in supplier diversity initiatives and has received multiple supplier diversity awards. Watch the Video Read the Summary
As a responsible business partner and active community participant, National Grid views supplier diversity as not just an internal corporate priority and policy but as an external priority to be supported and embedded in our communities. Diversifying supply chain plays an important role in carrying out their core mission and delivering on their purpose. National Grid seeks to ensure that they support the communities they serve by acknowledging and addressing the economic and social concerns confronting them especially in today’s uncertain and challenging climate. Watch the Video (Part I) Watch the Video (Part II) Read the Summary
P&G’s Supplier Diversity efforts began in 1976 and began a formal 2nd Tier program in 1996. Since 2007, P&G spends more than $2 billion with diverse-owned businesses every year. And in FY20/21 P&G surpassed $3 billion globally for the first time. Given this high level of achievement P&G is a member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable, a forum of companies spending more than $1 billion annually with diverse suppliers. Watch the Video Read the Summary
Click here to visit the University of Massachusetts System’s Public Sourcing Page.
Click here to visit the Boston Planning & Development Agency’s Procurement Portal.
Search "Massachusetts Gaming Commission" on COMMBUYS to view available procurement opportunities.
Click here to view subcontracting opportunities with Consigli Construction.
Click here to view open opportunities from the City of Boston.
Click here to view bid opportunities for MassDevelopment.
PROGRAM SPONSORS
Amply Latinx seeks to be a leading voice and advocate for Latinx communities across Massachusetts by building a diverse, unified and powerful coalition of Latinx leaders and partner organizations. Offerings:
Boston Impact Initiative (BII) is a nonprofit impact investing fund working to build financial, social and political power for entrepreneurs of color. We do this by investing in the people, places and social enterprises that share our vision of an equitable economy and need access to catalytic, integrated capital. Offerings:
Provides professional development and workforce training, youth employment opportunities, and supports diverse entrepreneurs in the food industry. Offerings:
The Center for Women & Enterprise is a nationally known nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people start and grow their businesses. Offerings:
Launched in 2017, the Foundation for Business Equity (FBE) starts with the unique needs of each business and digs deeper to support the business owner while also strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem to provide the essential tools required to drive revenue growth. Offerings:
The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) advances business opportunities for certified Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American business enterprises and connects them to corporate members. Offerings:
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents. Offerings:
Interise achieves their mission through purposeful research that turns insights into actions; bold programs that close gaps in business knowledge, know how and networks; and national partnerships that create impact at local, regional, and state-wide levels. Offerings:
As part of a national organization with deep local roots, LISC Boston is uniquely positioned to share resources, best practices, and innovations with the communities we serve. We provide funding, financing, and technical assistance to community development corporations (CDCs), nonprofit developers, grassroots organizations, as well as policy and advocacy organizations throughout Massachusetts. Offerings:
The SDO's goals are to increase opportunities for certified businesses and Small Business Purchasing Program (SBPP) participants through annual state agency spending benchmarks and include bid evaluation criteria within the state goods and services bid process. The SDO also provides public access to the certified business lists on the SDO web pages and distributes business opportunity events and notices to SDO participants. Offerings:
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) continues to help small business owners and entrepreneurs pursue the American dream. SBA is the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to small business and provides counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses. Offerings
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