By Brooke Thomson
President & CEO

The celebration of International Women’s Day yesterday and the observance of Women’s History Month invoke for me many outstanding women who have influenced my life – and those who have been an inspiration since I arrived here at Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

My mother, my primary role model, raised three of us on her own, working several jobs and instilling in me the confidence, ambition and work ethic that are the bedrock of success. I look forward to passing along those same attributes to my two teen-age daughters.

Then I arrived in Massachusetts, attending Mount Holyoke College, the first all-women’s college in the nation, and learned of more groundbreaking female leaders like alums Francis Perkins, Emily Dickinson and Helen Pitts.

Embarking on my career, I was able to cross paths with many more amazing women leaders over the decades.

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley was both a mentor and friend when I served as chief of the Business, Technology and Economic Development division of the AG’s office. I was delighted that Martha presented me with the Boston Business Journal Icon Award last year.

The history of Massachusetts is replete with businesswomen who mapped the course of the commonwealth’s economy.

Consider Hetty Green (1834–1916), a New Bedford native and one of the wealthiest women in America during the Gilded Age, dominating in a male-dominated financial world.

Or Elizabeth Eaton Boit (1849–1932), recognized as a “Great American Business Owner” by Harvard Business School. She was the first woman to hold an administrative position in a textile factory and established the firm Winship, Boit & Co.

Or Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840–1924) a pioneering cultural entrepreneur who founded the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, asserting massive financial and creative authority in Boston.

Here at AIM, our work on behalf of 3,400 Massachusetts employers is guided by a Board of Directors that for several years has had a membership of more than half women. These women, along with their male counterparts, represent the best of Massachusetts businesses from small Main Street stores to life-sciences startups to multi-national corporations.

Start with former Board Chairs Joanne Hilferty, President and CEO of Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries, and Pat Begrowicz, President of Onyx Specialty Papers in South Lee. Both of these women were wise, generous and welcoming as I joined AIM has head of Government Affairs, and later when I became the first female President and CEO in the 110-year history of the organization.

My colleagues on the Board continue to inspire and motivate me. It’s an amazing experience to look around the room and see people like Lisa Murray, President of Citizens Bank, Massachusetts; Tricia Canavan, CEO of Tech Foundry in Springfield; Dr. Julie Chen, Chancellor of UMass Lowell; Tanisha Sullivan, Head of External Engagement at Sanofi; and others who bring unique perspectives to the all-important job of overseeing the largest and most powerful business association in Massachusetts.

That’s a lot to celebrate. Good thing we have an entire month to do so.