(Updated Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 5:35 p.m.)

A new statewide initiative aims to make Massachusetts a better state to work and live in for people of color, immigrants and women.

Called Commonwealth Compact, the project gets formally launched at a breakfast this Friday, May 23, at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The Compact will work with employers across the state to improve minority and female representation within their staffs; create a databank of minority job-seekers; and, according to the project's Web site, "create a clearinghouse to improve the coordination and development of...programs dealing with diversity."

A key component of the Commonwealth Compact is its Benchmarks Initiative, through which organizations commit to meauring themselves over time on a detailed series of 25 diversity benchmarks.

As of May 20, 2008, more than 90 companies or organizations have signed on to the project, including John Hancock Financial Services, Raytheon, Staples, Wal-Mart, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), New England Aquarium, Boston Globe, Bingham McCutchen, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Partners HealthCare.

In addition to promoting workforce diversity, the Commonwealth Compact intends to help immigrants and English-language learners transition into living in the state.

The population of Massachusetts has decreased in recent years as working-age residents have moved to other states, according to Census data. However, the influx of immigrants has eased the population drain.

Faced with a shrinking workforce, Massachusetts employers have recognized the need for immigrant workers in low- to high-skill-level jobs in many industries, said Shuya Ohno of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, in a February 2008 interview with EthnicNewz.org about the state's workforce.

Immigrants in Massachusetts have been filling the workforce ranks of many industries, such as health care, high tech, retail, manufacturing and service sectors such as hotels, said Ohno.

The Commonwealth Compact will foster a more-welcoming environment for minorities and the foreign-born by promoting immigrant-friendly discourse and emphasizing their importance to Massachusetts' economic and civic potential.

Four leaders in academia, law and business, and media are spearheading the Compact.

Steve Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston (which is the home of EthnicNews.org), is convening the initiative with two co-organizers: former Suffolk County (Mass.) District Attorney Ralph Martin, who is now an attorney with Bingham McCutchen, and Steve Ainsley, publisher of the Boston Globe.

Robert L. Turner, former Boston Globe deputy editorial page editor, is the director of the Commonwealth Compact. Turner is also the Boston Globe Fellow at the McCormack Graduate School.

"Massachusetts history has been marked for 400 years by the critical contributions of immigrants and people of color to our economic health.... As we compete in a global economy and fight to keep our population base stable, immigrants and people of color are essential to our economic future. It is, therefore, all the more urgent that we...create a new reality and reputation for tolerance and inclusion, as part of the brand of Boston and Massachusetts," said Crosby in a press release.

"Each of the...signers, and the others that will follow, has agreed to a Common pursuit: making the Commonwealth a leader among other states.... Massachusetts has had mixed success...as a leader...in being inclusive, culturally competent and inviting to diverse populations. We have to become better at inclusiveness to retain talent, and to attract the kinds of industries and populations that will make this region an exemplar of inclusion, and truly world-class," said Martin in a press statement.

Ainsley added: "The [Commonwealth Compact] represents the culmination of a broad-based collaboration among Boston agencies that over time have dedicated themselves to expanding opportunities for the growing minority community. The linkage with the business community is a critical component, as today one would be hard-pressed to find a company of any size in our community that does not believe that a diverse workforce is not only a worthy objective, it is good for business at every level."

Learn more about the Commonwealth Compact at mccormack.umb.edu/CommCompact.php [1].

Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will be at the launch of the Commonwealth Compact on Friday, May 23, 2008, 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., at the Campus Center Ballroom of the University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd.

The launch is open to the public, but registration at umb.edu/events/compactlaunch [2] is requested.

Source: EthnicNewz.org

Copyright 2008 New England Ethnic News, EthnicNewz.org. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express permission of the news source. Contact NEWz for more information.

SEE ALSO:

Immigrants Make Up the Bulk of High- and Low-skill Health Care Jobs [3]

Can Immigrants Save Massachusetts' Shrinking Workforce? [4]