The Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) has over 1500 members and was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1978 with a goal to achieve the full and equal participation of women in the legal profession and in a just society. It is one of the oldest and largest women's bar associations in the country. History In 1979, a group of activist women lawyer's met for dinner at Dini's on Tremont Street in Boston. The discussion that night revolved around the concern that no bar association in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was speaking out on issues affecting women and women lawyers. Equally troubling to these early pioneers was the significant lack of women on the bench, and the failure of any bar association to actively encourage women to serve in the judiciary. These women were convinced that a bar association that spoke out on behalf of women's issues would garner membership and gain credibility in the legal community. Thus, in the spring of 1977, the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts was born. Today, 30 years later, the WBA & WBF occupy a small office suite on School Street, not far from where Dini's used to be. The Women's Bar Foundation (WBF) was founded in 1993 to oversee its charitable activities. Together, the staff of the WBA and WBF consist of a full-time executive director, membership director, strategic partnerships director, business manager, and administrative assistant, as well as a deputy director for both organizations and a staff attorney for the Family Law Project. Highlights in WBA history 1978: WBA holds its first organization meeting 1979: Elaine Epstein becomes the first WBA president. 1980: WBA drafts and files its first bill- tax incentives for employer-sponsored child care. 1983: WBA files its first amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Hishon v. King & Spaulding (Title VII prohibits law firms from discriminating in partnership decisions). 1990: WBA hosts its first annual Gala. 1991: WBA sponsors "Battered Women Fighting Back." 1993: WBA creates the Women's Bar Foundation to oversee its pro bono projects. 2001: WBA publishes its ground-breaking report "More than Part-Time," receiving national and international attention. 2002: WBA successfully lobbies for the passage of the Contraceptives Coverage Bill (requiring private health insurers in Massachusetts to cover contraceptives). Legislative Agenda and Achievements The WBA has a Legislative Committee that seeks to advance various legislative priorities surrounding women and the law. Legislative Priorities Welfare: The