About Us
Back in 2002, Betty Quadracci was incensed with an article in Milwaukee magazine - this was the magazine Betty owned and published - that asked "where are all the women leaders?" The answer was, sadly - there wasn't many. With few exceptions, Milwaukee's corporate world was a white man's world. We help up a figurative mirror to the male leaders in our community and showed them the paltry numbers in our very first research report. Clearly, change was needed.
Who better to advocate for change than Betty. She called on CEOs to advance more women leaders. She built awareness and visibility for women. She used what she learned through her own success to mentor many of our early members. Betty, phone call by phone call, meeting by meeting, laid the groundwork for where we are today. Our mission hasn't changed, but the opportunities for women certainly have. And we have Betty to thank for telling us to, "be bold".
2024 Research Report indicates continued progress
Since 2004, MWi has published an annual research report on the percentage of women serving on the boards of directors of the 50 largest Wisconsin public companies. Our 2024 research report, “Setting the Table” shows the percentage of women on the boards of Wisconsin’s top 50 public companies increased significantly vs prior year to 30.7%
Mary Ellen Stanek Award
Mary Ellen Stanek, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, Baird Advisors, Robert W. Baird & Co. and MWi emeritus member consistently shows a tireless commitment to diversity as a key to building strong corporations and a more vital Milwaukee region.
In 2014, in recognition of her work and appreciation for the time and energy she has given in service to the Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC) and Milwaukee Women inc (MWi), the organizations joined forces to create the Mary Ellen Stanek Award for Diversity in Corporate Governance.
The Mary Ellen Stanek Award for Diversity in Corporate Governance is given annually in to an individual or entity demonstrating a commitment to promoting diversity in their corporate structure resulting in increased gender diversity in leadership and on corporate boards in the Milwaukee Region.
2024 Mary Ellen Stanek Award Recipient
The Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC) in conjunction with Milwaukee Women inc (MWi) awarded the 11th annual Mary Ellen Stanek Award for Diversity in Corporate Governance to Ray Manista, Executive Vice President – Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer at Northwestern Mutual. The Mary Ellen Stanek Award is given to individuals and entities demonstrating a commitment to promoting equity and inclusion in their corporate structure resulting in increased gender and racial diversity in leadership and on corporate boards in the Milwaukee Region.
Ray Manista is an instrumental leader in bringing diversity to the Northwestern Mutual board. Today, its board of directors’ seats four women, one more than the recommended “Power of Three.” Studies have shown that boards with at least three women are proven to outperform those with a lower representation. As part of his role, Ray is responsible for formulating strategy and business plans, overseeing corporate governance, and holding accountability for philanthropic and related social impact strategies and investments. He refers to himself as “a community-minded businessperson who also wears a lawyer’s hat and helps connect the dots across the enterprise.”
With Ray’s courageous leadership, the success of gender equity strategies can be seen in various ways at Northwestern Mutual, including the Women’s Employee Resource Group, Black Women’s Group, Women in Technology, and its Male Allies groups. Together, they represent a collective ecosystem that works together on joint programming and objectives. Earlier this year, Northwestern Mutual held a Women’s Summit on its campus, bringing together over 2,800 women where allies focused on personal and professional well-being. Recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Employers for women, 50% of the roles across the company’s corporate offices belong to women. Ray’s leadership has been crucial in sustaining and growing this number.
While it’s generally accepted that gender equity advances results, it’s important to note the importance of supporting racial and ethnic differences within gender equity. Northwestern Mutual has been recognized for programming that brings together cohorts of 100 Black women and 100 Latinas in a year-long leadership program.
Ray describes Northwestern Mutual as “A company built on helping people achieve their full potential – both within the walls of our company and within the community.” Ray noted in a recent interview with Leaders Magazine that Northwestern Mutual has an opportunity to lead by example, and Ray Manista is doing just that.
MWi and the GMC leadership team review nominees for the Mary Ellen Stanek Award annually.
Past winners include the award’s namesake Mary Ellen Stanek, Managing Director of Baird; Cecelia Gore, Executive Director of the Brewers Community Foundation; Ellen Gilligan, president and CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation; Linda Gorens-Levey, partner at General Capital Group; Gale Klappa, Executive Chairman of WEC Energy Group; John Daniels, Jr., Chairman Emeritus of Quarles & Brady; and Gina Peter, Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo and Joan Prince, UWM vice chairman emeritus. Previous corporate winners include Froedtert Health, ManpowerGroup, Northwestern Mutual, Associated Bank, Aurora Healthcare, Rockwell Automation and Marquette University.