Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | October 12, 2020 | wbjournal.com MANUFACTURING M M I T & Business Journal's EXCELLENCE AWARDS MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & EXCELLENCE AWARDS WBJ Worcester Business Journal PLEASE JOIN US! As we recognize the achievements of WBJ's 2020 Manufacturing Excellence honorees and hold our annual Manufacturing Forum. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 4:00 - 5:30PM The event is free, however registration is required to receive links to the virtual event. Sign up today! www.wbjournal.com/manufacturing Supporting Sponsors: James Monroe Wire & Cable reMAke4.0 Powering Today's Industrial Revolution Corporate Sponsor: Presenting Sponsor: A SPECIAL TWO-PART EVENT PART ONE: Virtual Awards Recognition PART TWO: A special webcast featuring a panel discussion on the key issues affecting manufacturers in our region. Honorees Include: Dexter-Russell, Inc. Mercury Wire Products, Inc. CommCan, Inc. Web Industries, Inc. Swissturn/USA, Inc. The Neles Corp. Kathie Mahoney, MassMEP Process Cooling Systems Inc. F O C U S D I V E R S I T Y & I N C L U S I O N I t's been quite a year. An unprecedented pandemic unleashed heart- ache across the globe, as lost lives, economic hardship and public health restrictions continue to reshape our daily existence. The 2020 headlines have also shined a light on plac- es like Kenosha, WI, Minneapolis, and Louisville, cities on the front lines of systemic racism that exists in our country. At National Grid, we understand we need to do our part to combat this issue in the communities we serve, beginning with what goes on inside our business. That means making our company a more inclusive and diverse place to work. To that end, we spent time this summer examining our inclusion and diversi- ty efforts and crafting an agenda in support of a movement that requires us to use our voices and take specific actions. As of March 31, approximately 23 percent of our 16,000 US employees iden- tify as women and 20 percent identify as ethnically/racially diverse. In New England, a similar percentage of our employees are women and 14 percent identify as ethnically/racially diverse. All these numbers fall short of the repre- sentation of women and those who identify as ethically/racially diverse in our communities. We focus on creating an inclusive culture that supports our diverse work- force so everyone can contribute to meeting our customers' energy needs today, while creating sustainable solutions for tomorrow. We have 11 Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), including the Alliance of Black Professionals, the Asian Leadership Association, and the Hispanic Professional Association. ERGs offer our employees the chance to build their careers and skills through networking, peer mentoring, and engagement with senior leadership. Our inclusion and diversity outreach are essential to our values and are well recognized. National Grid has been named a "Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality" by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, one of the "Best Employers for Diversity 2020" by Forbes, and a "Leading Disability Employer" by the National Organization on Disability. We are honored to receive these awards, but we recognize we have a great deal of work to do if we want to achieve our goal of making real change within our business and the communities we serve. In the coming weeks, we will be adding several new resources, including a Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity. We will be transparent in sharing our inclusion and diversity metrics and will also increase access to racial dialogue sessions and training and development for all employees. We will also conduct an analysis of our hiring practices and talent pipeline processes while making additional diversity courses available online. These early steps will ultimately roll into a five-year inclusion and diversity initiative, one that advances an inclusive culture at National Grid that better represents the diverse neighborhoods in which we work and live. At National Grid we know a culture of inclusion and equality attracts top tal - ent, fosters innovation and promotes shared goals critical to our overall health and wellbeing. We serve a critical role in society, one that comes with tremen- dous responsibility. Our success is dependent upon strengthening a culture where all employees can thrive and perform at their very best. Sincerely, NATIONAL GRID: Advancing a Culture of Inclusion and Equality W Marcy L. Reed President, Massachusetts and Executive Vice President of Policy & Social Impact Special Sponsored Section

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