Healey-Driscoll Administration Releases Inaugural Workforce Data Report

Healey-Driscoll Administration Releases Inaugural Workforce Data Report

Data shows strong representation of women in workforce, higher racial and gender diversity among large companies

 

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today released the 2025 Massachusetts Workforce Data Report, an inaugural analysis of the demographic makeup of the workforce across Massachusetts. Last year, Governor Maura Healey signed the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act into law, which required the first-of-its-kind report.

 

This report aggregates data from employers with 100 or more workers, offering a comprehensive snapshot of race, gender, job category and industry representation across both public and private sectors, with an analysis on workplace equity.

 

The report finds strong representation of women in the Massachusetts workforce and higher racial and gender diversity within large companies. However, more work is needed to address persistent racial and gender gaps between higher-wage and lower-wage jobs and in certain industries.

 

“Massachusetts is home to the world’s best talent. But we need to make sure that everyone is able to participate in and succeed in our economy,” said Governor Maura Healey. “This report shows that we have made important progress to bring more women and people of color into our workforce, but that more work needs to be done to address racial and gender disparities. This data will be an important tool to guide our efforts to provide more workforce development opportunities and partner with employers and labor to support workers and strengthen our economy.”

 

“Massachusetts has always taken seriously our responsibility to ensure pay equity, from the 2016 Equal Pay Act to this important new wage equity legislation,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Not only is this the right thing to do for our workers, it also strengthens our economy and our ability to compete for the best talent.” 

Key findings from the report include:

• Gender Balance in Private Sector: Women make up 54 percent of the workforce in reporting private-sector companies, with higher representation in health care, education, and administrative support roles.

 

• Greater Diversity in the Largest Employers: Companies with 2,500 or more employees demonstrate higher levels of racial and gender diversity—possibly due to more robust HR infrastructure and diversity strategies compared to smaller firms.

 

• Persistent Occupational Disparities: Black and Hispanic workers remain overrepresented in lower-wage roles, such as service work, laborers, and administrative, and underrepresented in executive and managerial positions. Senior executive roles remain disproportionately held by white men.

 

• Gender Gaps in Male-Dominated Industries: Women remain significantly underrepresented in traditionally male-dominated fields such as construction, mining, and utilities.

 

• Shifting Demographics in Public Education: New hires in public schools show modest gains in racial diversity. However, school leadership positions lack racial diversity, with 62 percent of principal roles held by white employees.

 

• Public Education Workforce is Predominantly Female: Women comprise 77 percent of the public education workforce, and more than 74% of new hires, reflecting long-standing gender imbalances in the field.

 

• Progress in Finance and Professional Services: These sectors show more balanced gender representation than traditionally expected, indicating positive movement toward workplace representation.

 

• Asian Workers Often Concentrated in Professional Fields: Asian employees have relatively high representation in professional roles, especially in healthcare, tech, and information and scientific sectors.

The 2025 Massachusetts Workforce Data Report is the first issued since Governor Healey signed the legislation into law in July 2024. As part of the enacted legislation, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development was tasked with reporting aggregate, anonymized Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) data submitted by employers annually to the Secretary of State’s Office. The report was developed in partnership with Boston University’s Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences and the Boston Women’s Workforce Council, using advanced data privacy techniques to protect confidentiality.

“This report will help move Massachusetts forward as we tackle gender and racial wage disparities and inequities within the workplace,” said Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones. “Following this report, the Healey-Driscoll Administration will continue to work with stakeholders, including employers, to develop and implement policies that attract and retain skilled, diverse talent right here in Massachusetts.” 

 

Secretary Jones released the report during a visit to Boston University’s Duan Family Center for Computing and Data Sciences. The Boston University team, which includes researchers in computing and data sciences, developed and used a first-in-the-nation approach for cutting-edge cryptography to allow for the computation and aggregation of confidential data while preserving the anonymity of employers’ individual data.

 

"Our businesses and organizations are more successful when they lead with an eye toward equity and fairness. In order to make progress, it's critical to first understand the areas in which we can improve," said AG Campbell. "I was proud to support the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act, and I am grateful that the Healey-Driscoll Administration has launched a data-driven approach towards capturing the Commonwealth's workplace equity."

 

The Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act, named after the Massachusetts native who was the first woman to serve as US Secretary of Labor, includes additional tools to help promote wage transparency and level the playing field for all workers. In addition to the new data collection requirement, the law protects an employee’s right to ask for salary range information and requires public and private employers with 25 or more employees to disclose pay ranges in job postings and internal promotions. These provisions go into effect in October. Leading up to this effective date, the Attorney General’s Office will conduct a campaign to raise awareness.

 

“This effort reflects our commitment to data-driven policymaking,” said Undersecretary of Labor Josh Cutler. “We’re deeply grateful to the employers who participated and to our partners at Boston University and the Boston Women’s Workforce Council for helping us build a secure model for workforce data collection.”

 

“A technology we initially developed in support of the Boston Women’s Workforce Council privacy-preserving reports on gender pay equity, expanded greatly for over a decade through NSF and DARPA awards, is the catalyst for what is now the law of the land on pay transparency in Massachusetts,” said Boston University Associate Provost Azer Bestavros. “It’s our privilege to be entrusted with hosting and operating the technology platform for implementing that law -- that's what societally relevant convergent research impact looks like!”

 

The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office worked closely with EOLWD to support employer compliance and facilitate data submission under the new law.

 

To read the full report and view the new 2025 Massachusetts Workforce data dashboard, visit mass.gov/workforce2025.