Noreen Farrell 

Executive Director

Equal Rights Advocates

Facilitator

Noreen Farrell is a nationally recognized movement leader and innovator in the fight for gender justice and an expert in law, policy, and culture change. She is the Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates, a national legal non-profit advancing gender, racial, and economic justice across the nation. Noreen is also President and CEO of the Equal Rights Advocates Action Fund, building political power behind reforms critical to women’s progress. 

Noreen has a distinguished track record working on a broad set of issues central to lives of women and girls. As a civil rights litigator, she has represented thousands of workers and students in groundbreaking impact litigation to end sex discrimination and exploitation, including before the U.S. Supreme Court. As founder and leader of state and national policy reform campaigns, she helped pass and implement the nation’s first paid family leave law as well as the country’s strongest laws combatting wage injustice, gender-based violence, and discrimination against caregivers. Noreen is the strategic architect of collective impact initiatives with partners nationwide driving change in the states and building power for federal reforms. As chair of the national Equal Pay Today Campaign, Noreen leads 70+ state, national, and tribal parters closing the pay gap, with 100+ policy wins since 2013. Through the Stop Harassment State Network, ERA works with 158 organizational members addressing gender-based violence and harassment at home, work, school. Noreen also founded the Stronger California Advocates Network, with 75+ organizational members building power for progressive reforms that have been replicated across the country. Since 2015, Stronger California has been the force behind  66 policy wins now benefitting 18 million people, including five million low paid workers. These new laws have strengthened workplace equity, expanded protections against gender-based violence, supported paid leave for working families, expanded access to quality and affordable childcare, and bolstered safety nets for families in need. 

Noreen also leads ERA’s developing strategies in the AI and technology space. These include defending the future of work for women workers through guardrail policy advocacy, challenging algorithmic bias in the workplace and worker datafication, and developing with partners female-forward technology supporting women workers. 

A national thought leader, Noreen presents, testifies, and publishes widely. She is regularly featured as a legal and social commentator in national and international media outlets.