the story of jane the legendary underground abortion service

Whether you agree with the very subjective nature of the rankings or not-we’re certainly counting on them kickstarting more than a few heated debates!-one thing is for sure: What it means to be a leader in Boston keeps changing and moving forward. Something else that’s different about our list this year? We’ve expanded it from 100 to 150 people, reflecting the more-diffuse nature of power across the city as the former old boys’ network becomes more diverse and inclusive. The biotech industry and universities are also leading the charge: New presidents at Harvard and MIT-Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth, respectively-exemplify the latter, while CEOs Reshma Kewalramani of Vertex and Yvonne Greenstreet of Alnylam represent the former.

Look around the city, and you’ll find women newly named as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, president of GBH, and editor of the Boston Globe. Voters seem to be ahead of the curve, but boards of directors and search committees are catching up. The most obvious example is our new number one: Maura Healey, who became the state’s first woman elected governor just a year after Michelle Wu became the first woman elected mayor of Boston. That’s represented throughout our 2023 ranking of the most influential Bostonians-in fact, nearly half of the people on the list are women.

Now, in a stream of elections, appointments, and hires over the past year or so, female leaders have finally positioned themselves at the head of many of those tables. For years, Boston’s women have fought for a seat at the tables of power.

The story of jane the legendary underground abortion service