Press Release: 11/2/2025

UMass Lowell ranked among Top 100 Women-Led Businesses

 



Accolades from The Women’s Edge Add to Growing Cache of Rankings for the University



Aerial photograph of UMass Lowell featuring East Campus and the river.



For the ninth consecutive year, UMass Lowell has been named among the top third best women-led businesses in Massachusetts. The list includes businesses and nonprofits in health care, financial services, human services, retail, real estate, law and more.



10/31/2025



Media Contacts: David Joyner, executive director of communications and digital media, David_Joyner@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, associate director of media relations, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu



LOWELL, Massachusetts – Again this year, UMass Lowell has been named one of the state’s most successful organizations run by a woman. The university ranks second in the education sector and No. 26 overall in The Women’s Edge 2025 Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts.



This marks the ninth consecutive year UMass Lowell has been named among the top third of such organizations, which include businesses and nonprofits in health care, financial services, human services, retail, real estate, law and more. 



“This achievement underscores the value and quality inherent in a UMass Lowell education,” said university Chancellor Julie Chen. “This includes our designation as a national Research 1 institution, our commitment to providing all students with paid career-connected experiences and our advancement of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC), a model partnership between the university and industry that will further broaden students’ horizons.”



To determine the rankings, The Women’s Edge considered the size of each organization’s budget, workforce size, workplace and management diversity and innovative projects. Taken together, the 100 companies on the list represent a total revenue and operating budget of $141 billion, a 13% increase over last year’s figure, according to The Women’s Edge. 



Results were announced Friday, Oct. 24, at a celebratory breakfast at Boston Marriott Copley Place. The list, which is compiled in partnership with The Boston Globe, is featured in the Globe magazine’s annual “Women & Power” edition.



UMass Lowell’s leadership in higher education has drawn praise from other outlets, as well. For the second time in two years, The Wall Street Journal this month named UMass Lowell the No. 1 public university in the Massachusetts. The media outlet also praised UMass Lowell as the state’s No. 1 best value public university and No. 1 in Massachusetts in fostering social mobility among students. 



Similarly, in September, U.S. News & World Report ranked UMass Lowell as the No. 1 “best value school” in Massachusetts. U.S. News also places the university at No. 1 in the state and No. 3 in the nation for best online master’s program in criminal justice and No. 1 in New England and No. 9 in the country for the best online master’s programs in education.