Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 8, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 3 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 Intern Aliya Larkin, alarkin@wbjournal.com 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 published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $60.00. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ I n 2018, WBJ News Editor Grant Welker took a relatively simple assignment to find out how many women were named executives at Central Massachusetts public companies and turned it into a nearly six- month investigation called e Board- room Gap, assessing the gender diversity in the executive suites and board rooms at 75 of the region's prominent business organizations. is turned out to be a groundbreaking and award-winning investigation, as the first year findings showed Central Mas- sachusetts trailed both the state and the nation in women in business leadership. To track the region's progress – or lack thereof – Welker updated this investi- gation each of the last two years, which showed how companies were taking small steps toward better gender equality in their top positions. Now in its fourth year, Welker has taken a step back from e Boardroom Gap series, handing off the responsibilities to WBJ's diversity and inclusion reporter, Monica Busch (although credit still goes to Welker and WBJ Lead Researcher Timothy Doyle for developing all e Boardroom Gap charts, by analyzing 1,600 professionals in Central Massachu- setts). Whereas the first three years of e Boardroom Gap investigation focused almost entirely on the results themselves, Busch has taken a different approach this year, folding the findings into the broader context of women in the workplace and the many obstacles and advantages Cen- tral Massachusetts women now have in breaking the glass ceiling. e past year has brought many chal- lenges to women in the workforce, partic- ularly the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused a disproportionate number of women to leave their jobs (See page 14). is year has brought advantages as well, with the paid family medical leave law ex- pected to increase the number of women in the leadership talent pipeline (page 8) and the inauguration of Kamala Harris as U.S. vice president helping to redefine for the nation what leadership looks like (page 12). Aer that first year of e Boardroom Gap in 2018, WBJ realized the importance of dedicating an entire print edition to I N T H I S I S S U E issues around Women in Leadership. is is the third annual Women in Leadership edition, and we look forward to exploring all these issues further. – Brad Kane, editor e Boardroom Gap, part four N E W S & A N A LY S I S 4 Central Mass. In Brief 6 Focus on Women in Leadership 17 The List: Highest-paid nonprofit executives 18 Column: Outside the Box 19 Know How 20 Movers & Shakers 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: WPI's new business dean 8 Work & family The state's new paid family medical leave law could lead to more women in leadership positions, as gender diversity in Central Mass. board rooms hits a four-year high. 14 The shecession The COVID pandemic has disproportionately impacted female workers, with the long- term impacts – if left unaddressed – costing trillions in lost GDP. D E P A R T M E N T S A division of: W What does financial freedom mean to you? At Bartholomew & Company, we believe it comes down to sound financial planning and investment advice—expertise you can trust to keep you on track at any stage, whether you're just starting your business or getting ready to retire. It's the kind of guidance we've been delivering for more than 25 years. So that when those important moments come along, you can experience every one of them with confidence. Call us for a complimentary consultation at 508.753.8807, or visit www.bartandco.com. Financial Planning Today for All of Tomorrow's Firsts 370 Main Street, Suite 1000, Worcester, MA 01608 | 508.753.8807 Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, ® Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. CORRECTION: The Jan. 25 Shop Talk article "Building out the life sciences industry" incorrectly said Matthew Zicaro studied mechanical engineering at Bay Path University. He studied HVAC.

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