Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal • 2021 Economic Forecast 29 A Partnership Based on Trust. cornerstonebank.com 800-939-9103 Charlton • Holden • Leicester • Rutland • Southbridge • Spencer • Sturbridge • Warren • Webster • Worcester NMLS #403295 ZAWADA INSURANCE Andrew Zawada of Zawada Insurance has a lot on his plate. That's why he greatly values his relationship with Cornerstone Bank. "Having them as a partner takes a lot of stress off me—and allows me to focus on what I need to do to make my business successful and grow; I don't have to worry about all the distractions in the background." Adds Andrew: "I consider my contacts at Cornerstone to be my good friends. I'm able to reach out whenever I need to; they're always very quick to respond. Our community bank of choice is Cornerstone because we can count on them." Let us help your business. You'll experience the power of trust in action. " It's nice to know we have a bank like Cornerstone we can trust. " - Andrew Zawada, Co-owner, Zawada Insurance Agency Top diversity & inclusion stories from 2020 Larger employers are prioritizing D&I positions Originally published Aug. 3. See the full version on WBJournal.com. Central Massachusetts businesses, against the backdrop of the growing Black Lives Matter movement, are placing renewed focus on diversity & inclusion in their organizations. Worcester Business Journal surveyed the top 30 largest employers in Central Massachusetts in July and, of those who responded, all but two either had an administrative position dedicated to diversity within the company or were in the process of creating one. "What's different in the George Floyd moment is that it has woken up a lot of people," said Amit Taneja, associate pro- vost for diversity, equity and inclusion at the College of the Holy Cross. Black and Latino populations are underrepresented at every career level above support staff in comparison to the total population, according to HR consulting firm Mercer Global. Black-owned businesses comprise less than 1% of Worcester County firms Originally published June 22. See the full version on WBJournal.com. At such a perilous time, the Worcester County business community is ham- pered by an uncomfortable problem: In the homogeneous world of business leadership in Worcester County, top offi- cials at the area's largest and best-known institutions are almost entirely white. ere are no Black leaders among the area's publicly traded companies. None lead the area's hospitals or colleges. For the last three years for its e Boardroom Gap investigation, the Worcester Business Journal has reviewed 75 of the largest and best-known institu- tions in Central Massachusetts to gauge gender diversity among top executives and board members. ose reviews have consistently reached the same conclu- sion: Positions of power – and highest pay – overwhelmingly go to men, and especially white men. Only one of the leaders of those business organizations – YMCA of Central Massachusetts President and CEO David Connell — is Black. It's just as rare in Worcester County to find a Black-owned business. Less than 1% of the Worcester County businesses with employees are Black- owned, despite Black residents making up 6% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A summer of steps toward racial equity are just a start Originally published Oct. 12. See the full version on WBJournal.com. Four months have passed since Minne- apolis police officers killed George Floyd, prompting renewed attention to the Black Lives Matter movement and impelling companies of all kinds, including many of the region's colleges, to release statements of solidarity, hire diversity officers and vow to make racial equity a priority. A third of the year later, what has changed? Of the varied Worcester colleges re- sponses this summer, the most attention has fallen on Clark University. e school drew headlines when it announced in June it would stop hiring Worcester Police Department officers as campus detail fol- lowing an altercation between Clark stu- dents and the WPD during a BLM protest on June 1. Further demands put forth by Clark's Black Student Union illustrate how a summer filled with steps toward racial equity are a long way from com- prehensively addressing the deep-rooted issues surrounding racism. Eurayshia Williams Reed, owner of Worcester salon Shi-Shi's Lounge W PHOTO/GRANT WELKER

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