{"id":17375,"date":"2025-08-07T07:26:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T11:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/?page_id=17375"},"modified":"2025-08-07T15:18:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T19:18:53","slug":"workforce-equity-platform","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/research-impact\/workforce-equity-platform\/","title":{"rendered":"From Data to Policy: Inside CDS\u2019s Landmark Workforce Equity Platform"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

What started as a research question at Boston University (BU) has become a policy-shaping force across Massachusetts. In May 2025, policymakers, researchers, and business leaders gathered at the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences to mark the official release of the Massachusetts Workforce Data Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Required by the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act<\/a> and developed using a secure, privacy-preserving data platform engineered at BU, the MA Workforce Data Report represents the culmination of more than a decade of cross-sector innovation, advocacy, and computational rigor. This effort reflects the commitment by the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences<\/a> and the University to harnessing data science for societal impact\u2014advancing data-driven policymaking to promote workplace equity.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot
Azer Bestavros, Warren Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Associate Provost for Computing & Data Sciences<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis gathering reflects the power of collaboration\u2014across sectors, across disciplines, and across time,\u201d said Azer Bestavros<\/a>, Boston University\u2019s Associate Provost for Computing & Data Sciences, in his May 2025 welcome address. \u201cThis forward-thinking initiative builds on BU\u2019s long-standing commitment to using data science for the public good.\u201d<\/p>\n

That commitment began in earnest in 2014, when the City of Boston issued a call for the development of a mechanism that would allow companies to share payroll data without compromising employee privacy. At the time, the conversation around pay equity was largely anecdotal. Companies were reluctant to share sensitive data, and few tools existed to rigorously measure wage disparities across gender and race.<\/p>\n

Under Bestavros\u2019 leadership as the founding director of the BU\u2019s Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science and Engineering (Hariri Institute)<\/a>, a novel solution was developed\u2014one that would go on to set a national precedent. Drawing on cutting-edge cryptographic techniques and a deep bench of academic expertise, BU researchers and principal investigators Neha Gondal<\/a>, John Liagouris<\/a>, and Mayank Varia<\/a> created a secure data-sharing platform that enabled employers to contribute salary data for equity analysis anonymously.<\/p>\n

\"Neha
Neha Gondal, Associate Professor of Sociology and Computing & Data Sciences<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWage equity is a serious and widespread social problem. The data tells us where disparities exist, but to interpret them meaningfully, we have to understand the forces undergirding them,\u201d said Gondal, an Associate Professor of Sociology and Computing & Data Sciences. \u201cThis platform doesn\u2019t just generate numbers\u2014it provides a lens into the structural conditions that produce and sustain inequality. That\u2019s what makes it powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pilot, housed with the Boston Women\u2019s Workforce Council (BWWC), soon evolved into a regional and statewide movement. Powered by over 200 employer signatories to the BWWC\u2019s 100% Talent Compact, the system has now delivered five workforce equity reports over the last decade, including the 2023 report that revealed women in Greater Boston still earn just 79 cents on the dollar compared to men.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis platform shows what happens when trust, technical expertise, and a shared mission align,\u201d said Kimberly Borman<\/a>, Executive Director of the Boston Women\u2019s Workforce Council. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about data\u2014it\u2019s about action, and Boston University has been a driving force behind both.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mayank
Mayank Varia, Associate Professor of Computing & Data Sciences<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Varia, Gondal, and Liagouris led the charge in refining the system\u2019s analytical power and expanding its scope. Gondal\u2019s expertise in social networks and inequality shaped the platform\u2019s equity indicators, while Varia\u2019s background in applied cryptography ensured that sensitive data remained secure.<\/p>\n

\u201cBU didn\u2019t just answer the call,\u201d said Varia, associate professor of Computing & Data Sciences. \u201cWe built a secure, scalable engine for progress\u2014one that marries privacy, transparency, and accountability in service of equity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Headshot
John Liagouris, Assistant Professor of Computer Science<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Liagouris, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Boston University and co-lead of the University\u2019s Complex Analytics and Scalable Processing Research Lab (CASPLab), led the development of ORQ (Oblivious Relational Query Engine)\u2014a secure multiparty computation (MPC) system powering the platform\u2019s statistical analysis. Built on years of research, ORQ reflects BU\u2019s broader effort to use MPC for social good.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project is a powerful example of what\u2019s possible when we bring advanced systems research out of the lab and into the world,\u201d said Liagouris. \u201cWe were able to apply our expertise in secure computation to a real-world challenge with high stakes and lasting impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

The May 2025 launch marks a historic scaling of this work. The platform now serves as the backbone of a statewide mandate requiring companies of a certain size to submit anonymized payroll data annually.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a win for employers, a win for workers, and a win for transparency,\u201d said Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones, one of several dignitaries in attendance at the May launch. Also joining the celebration were Undersecretary of Labor Josh Cutler, Brooke Thomson, President and CEO of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and Former Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy, co-chair of the BWWC.<\/p>\n

Murphy, who has championed wage equity in Massachusetts for more than two decades, called the platform \u201ca testament to what\u2019s possible when academia, government, and industry come together with a shared purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

The platform driving the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act represents a breakthrough not just in technology, but in trust-building and cross-sector collaboration. By safeguarding company-level confidentiality while revealing industry-wide trends, it enables the kind of transparency essential to systemic change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this system, we\u2019re no longer operating in the dark,\u201d said Josh Cutler, Massachusetts Undersecretary of Labor, calling the platform a model for public-private data collaboration. \u201cWe now have a detailed, anonymized, and scalable way to understand wage gaps in real time\u2014and we have Boston University to thank for building the engine behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"For BU, the impact extends well beyond the data. As Bestavros emphasized in his May release remarks, the project has become a living lab for student learning. Each report cycle has involved teams of BU students, who have contributed to everything from Python-based data cleaning to Tableau dashboard development.<\/p>\n

Liagouris also supervised a team of three BU student researchers who contributed to data extraction, cleaning, and visualization tools used in the project. All three students\u2014Jida Li (CAS \u201825), Rohit Vemparala (CAS \u201824), and Haodong Xu (CAS \u201824)\u2014were enrolled in his Distributed Systems courses (CS 351 and CS 651) and continued their work as part of the Workforce Equity initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project became a living lab\u2014not only for advancing research, but for showing students how their work can drive meaningful societal change,\u201d Liagouris added. \u201cThey weren\u2019t just coding; they were building systems with real-world purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vemparala described the experience as \u201ctransformational.\u201d At an April 2025 presentation showcasing the student team’s work, Vemparala detailed how the project deepened his technical skills and opened doors to both graduate programs and job offers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the kind of experience that defines BU\u2019s approach to computing and data sciences,\u201d said Bestavros. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about writing code\u2014it\u2019s about understanding context, engaging with stakeholders, and using data to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story of BU\u2019s wage equity platform is also a story of institutional agility. In 2015, Bestavros penned an essay titled \u201cComputational Thinking Breaks a Logjam<\/em>,\u201d arguing that the university’s strength lay in its ability to apply interdisciplinary approaches to societal challenges. The wage equity platform has since become a flagship example of that philosophy in action\u2014one that has helped define the mission and ethos of BU\u2019s Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis platform started as an experiment,\u201d Bestavros reflected. \u201cNow it\u2019s a model.\u201d<\/p>\n

From a small team of researchers answering a mayoral call to a state-backed, policy-shaping data system housed in one of BU\u2019s most iconic new buildings, the journey to the 2025 Workforce Data Report illustrates what\u2019s possible when ambition meets alignment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences was created to break down silos and tackle real-world problems,\u201d said Varia. \u201cThis project shows what that looks like in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the event concluded, the sense of momentum was unmistakable. With new legislation, growing business participation, and a new generation of student researchers at the helm, the future of workforce equity in Massachusetts looks both more transparent and more achievable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd at its core lies a simple but powerful belief that data, when handled with care and courage, can be a force for lasting change,\u201d Bestavros said.<\/p>\n