wbjournal.com | October 12, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 5
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
News Editor, Grant Welker,
gwelker@wbjournal.com (Higher
education, health care, real estate)
Staff Writer, Monica Busch,
mbusch@wbjournal.com
(Manufacturing, equality & inclusion)
Editorial Interns
Devina Bhalla, Riley Garand
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon,
Sarah Connell
Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle,
tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Art Director, Mitchell Hayes,
mhayes@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Senior Special Accounts Manager
Mary Lynn Bosiak,
mlbosiak@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
COO, Mary Rogers,
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Account Receivable Specialist,
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Jill Coran,
jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Audience Development,
Valerie Clark,
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Operations Assistant,
Leah Allen,
lallen@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Tom Curtin
tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is
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Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
I
n the wake of the Minneapolis
police killing of George Floyd in
May and the increased momen-
tum behind the Black Lives Matter
movement, Central Massachusetts
organizations of all sizes were quick to
denounce racism and police brutality and
begin committing to greater diversity and
inclusion. Not everyone was united, per
se, but there was general agreement things
needed to change.
But if these diversity and inclusion
efforts are to ever go beyond nice state-
ments and small symbolic gestures, the
efforts are going to have to get uncomfort-
able. at unity will be eroded with each
major step as objections arise to various
measures, and only strong wills and deter-
mination will keep the momentum going
as Floyd's death moves further in the past.
Take Staff Writer Monica Busch's
"Sharing paychecks" story on page 8 on
how companies can help reduce pay gaps
where women earn 83 cents compared
to men and Black women earn 58 cents.
e main point of the story is companies
should make salaries on their positions
more transparent, so all employees have
a better understanding of what they can
earn. Doing so, of course, hurts compa-
nies' ability to bargain effectively with
their new hires over pay, and some em-
ployees will object to their compensation
being made public, even if it is just a range
for a similar position. Salary transparency
is a way to increase diversity & inclusion,
but it won't be popular with everybody.
None of the 10 largest employers in Cen-
tral Massachusetts currently do it.
Busch's other story for this edition's
Diversity & Inclusion section shows how
Clark University did make some strides
to increase its anti-racism education.
However, the organization representing
students of color – the Black Student
Union – says the efforts have not gone
far enough, and the school still needs to
address issues the BSU has been asking for
since the mid-20th century. Clark could
be lauded for going beyond what most
other Central Mass. organizations were
doing, but it is still seen by members of its
own student body as falling short.
Getting to a place where the deep-root-
ed problems of racism and prejudice are
addressed in a significant way is always
I N T H I S I S S U E
going to require uncomfortable changes
and controversial decisions. But, as all this
gets harder, it is important to remember
why we prioritized it in the first place.
- Brad Kane, editor
is is going to get messy
N E W S & A N A LY S I S
6 Central Mass. In Brief
8 Focus on: Diversity & Inclusion
12 The List: Top minority-owned
businesses
13 The List: Top LGBTQ+ businesses
31 The List: Marijuana businesses
32 Know How
33 Column: The Hustle is Real
34 Movers & Shakers
36 Photo Finish
37 Opinion
38 Shop Talk: Island Fin Poke
22 Manufacturing
Excellence Awards
WBJ's annual awards for the largest
industry in Central Massachusetts honor
seven companies and one individual who all
share the traits of adaptability and loyalty.
W
Customized solutions from a local
team, here to help you face your
current business challenges.
Let's get you
back to business.
Member FDIC
For more information, visit
RocklandTrust.com/Worcester
or call,
Michael Crawford
SVP, Worcester Market Executive
508.769.2944
D E P A R T M E N T S
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