Martin J. Walsh announced the appointment of Tania Del Rio as the City of Boston’s new executive director for the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement, an office tasked with overseeing and coordinating initiatives to promote equal rights and equal economic, social, political and educational opportunities for all women and girls throughout Boston. Del Rio, who currently serves as the Diversity outreach officer in the City’s Office of Diversity, is the first Latina to lead the office.
As director, Del Rio will build upon the successes of the Office and work to continue advancing its priorities, including work on paid family leave; childcare accessibility and affordability; closing the gender wage gap; reducing the demand for sex trafficking; and creating specific programming for women entrepreneurs.
“I am excited to take on the role of executive director for the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement and look forward to working with the many community partners and organizations that work to advance women and girls every day,” said Del Rio. “I’ve always been passionate about the importance of women’s voices, especially women of color, being represented in everything we do. With Mayor Walsh’s continued leadership in this space, I look forward to working every single day to make Boston the best city in America for women.”
Since the office was first established in 2014, it has taken a leadership position on issues impacting women, both on a local and national scale. The office is best known for its first-in-the-nation, multi-pronged approach to measuring and closing the gender wage gaps in Boston.
Del Rio currently serves as the City of Boston’s Diversity Outreach Officer, where her work is focused on helping the City of Boston shape a workforce that is reflective of its population, and promoting diversity and inclusion among Boston’s employers. Before joining the City of Boston she served as the head of the Citizen Protection and Community Affairs Departments at the Consulate of Mexico in Boston, and the head of Political Affairs and Press at the Embassy of Mexico in Colombia.