Evelyn Murphy (born May 14, 1940) is an American businesswoman and politician who was the 67thlieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1991, being the first woman in the history of the state to hold a constitutional office.^[1][2] She is now the president of The WAGE Project, aUnited States nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminatingwage discrimination against women; a resident scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center atBrandeis University, and a corporate director.^[2][3]

Evelyn Murphy
Murphy c. 1984–1987
67thLieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 8, 1987 – January 3, 1991
Governor	Michael Dukakis
Preceded by	John Kerry
Succeeded by	Paul Cellucci
Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Affairs
In office January 6, 1983 – December 16, 1985
Governor	Michael Dukakis
Preceded by	George Kariotis
Succeeded by	Joseph Alviani
Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs
In office January 2, 1975 – January 4, 1979
Governor	Michael Dukakis
Preceded by	Hank Foster
Succeeded by	John A. Bewick
Personal details
Born	(1940-05-14)May 14, 1940 (age 84) Ancón, Panama
Political party	Democratic
Education	Duke University Columbia University

Murphy was born in 1940 inAncón, Panama, to American citizens. Her father was stationed with the army in thePanama Canal Zone, where her mother joined him in 1939. At the age of six weeks, Murphy was brought to her grandmother's home in Massachusetts. She continued to hold dual U.S.-Panamanian citizenship until the age of 19, when she took the oath of U.S. citizenship in Washington, D.C.^[4]

Murphy earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics fromDuke University, a master's degree in economics fromColumbia University, and a doctorate in economics from Duke University.^[2] She was afellow at the Institute of Politics ofHarvard's Kennedy School of Government.^[5]

Murphy served as Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs from 1974 to 1978.^[6] In September 1979 PresidentJimmy Carter named her to the chairmanship of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere.^[5] In 1982 Murphy sought the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor, losing to John Kerry. In 1983 she was appointed Secretary of Economic Affairs, a position she held until 1985.^[2]

In 1986 Murphy ran for Lieutenant Governor against State SenatorGerard D'Amico in the Democratic primary,^[7] winning by 374,714 votes (60.10%) to 248,671 votes (39.89%) for D'Amico. In the general election, theDukakis-Murphy team garnered 1,157,786 votes (65.15%) versus 525,364 votes (34,85%) forGeorge Kariotis and Nicholas Nikitas.

During her tenure as Lieutenant Governor, Murphy had little communication with Governor Dukakis.^[8] She described their relationship by stating "there is no good will here and certainly no mutual respect".^[9] Dukakis did not invite Murphy to key meetings and did not tell her when he was out of state campaigning forPresident of the United States.^[8][9] Thus, she would serve as acting governor without even knowing it.^[8]

After Dukakis announced that he was not running forGovernor of Massachusetts in 1990, Murphy entered the race. With strong name recognition and a solid base of liberal support, Murphy was the early frontrunner. In July 1989, Murphy led Attorney GeneralFrancis X. Bellotti 42% to 18% in aBoston Globe poll. That November, Murphy still led Bellotti, but only by 2%. In January, after Bellotti's first wave of television commercials and the entry ofBoston University PresidentJohn Silber into the race, Murphy fell to 20% to Bellotti's 38% and Silber's 16%.^[10] At the 1990 Democratic Convention, Bellotti won the convention endorsement with 51% to Murphy's 40% on the second ballot. Silber received 15.5% on the first ballot, which allowed him to run in the primary.^[11]

Murphy's campaign appeared to be badly hurt by the public perception that she was close to the unpopular Dukakis and therefore tried to make a break with the Dukakis Administration.^[9][10] Dukakis twice postponed a trade mission to Europe because Murphy hinted at a news conference that she would execute her own economic plan while serving as acting governor.^[9] After the incident, Murphy's unfavorable rating rose to 49% in a Boston Globe/WBZ-TV poll, compared to 38% a month earlier.^[10] A week before the primary, Murphy withdrew from the race so that she would not be a spoiler in the race and cost fellow liberal Bellotti the nomination.^[10][12] Bellotti would lose the nomination to Silber 53% to 44%.

In 1990 Murphy entered the corporate world. She became managing director of the law firm Brown, Rudnick, Freed & Gesmer, and corporate director of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Shawmut National Banks, Fleet National Bank, Fleet Mortgage Company, and Fleet Credit Card Corporation. Blue Cross recruited her to the position of executive vice president in charge of federal and stage media and civic relations. During the latter job, she founded Blue Cross' HealthCare Policy Institute.^[2]

Today Murphy is a resident scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University, vice chair of the board of SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company, a director of theCitizens Energy Corporation, a director of theCommonwealth Institute, and a trustee ofRegis College.^[13]

She has been awarded 11 honorary degrees and over 100 national, state, and local awards.^[2]

Her 2005 book,Getting Even: Why women don't get paid like men and what to do about it^[14] was the product of a research effort lasting eight years.^[13] In conjunction with the book, Murphy founded The WAGE Project (Women Are Getting Even) to battle wage discrimination against working women.^[15] She has testified beforeU.S. Senate andHouse committee hearings on pay discrimination against women.^[3][13]

• List of female lieutenant governors in the United States

• Paycheck Fairness Act Hearing: Dr. Evelyn Murphy (video) onYouTube
• Papers of Evelyn F. Murphy, 1940-2015: A Finding Aid.Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
• Appearances onC-SPAN