By Ellen Keiley

Why are we still having this conversation? That was the theme of the Bentley University Center for Women and Business Inaugural forum that took place on April 27, 2012. The Center is working on initiatives relating to advancing women in the workplace and moving from conversation to action. Energetic as always, Bentley University President Gloria Larson kicked off the forum that over 700 people had signed up to attend. Bentley University's Toni Wolfman said 'the Center provides a framework to develop effective solutions to challenges faced by women in the workplace.'

Betsy Myers was appointed as the Center's Founding Director. Myers is an authority on leadership and author of the book Take the Lead: Motivate, Inspire, and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You. She has deep experience in the corporate, political and higher education arenas and served as Chief Operating Officer of Barack Obama's Presidential Campaign. Myers also served in the Clinton Administration as an adviser on women's issues.

According to Myers, over the last 15 years, the number of women in senior-level executive positions hasn't moved. We are still talking about the same issues now as before. She said 'In the past, advancing women in the workplace was just a nice thing to do.' Now, Myers sees a big shift in male leaders in corporate America's thinking. They now believe in the business case for advancing women in the workplace in order to stay competitive. Myers provided the following notable statistics:

' In 2010, 70 % of new entrants in the workplace were women and of color;