Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | September 5, 2022 | wbjournal.com throughout the City accountable, problems could persist, Zolezzi- Wyndham said. "As I think about the challenges that I used to hear about from Stephanie, I think one of the biggest challenges is just how much autonomy individual departments have to hire who and how they want. I don't know how strong their systems are," she said. "Because the City doesn't have a practice of meeting with diversity, equity, and inclusion, not having somebody who is at a leadership level keeping folks accountable means that people who have bad practices are being allowed to continue." Williams declined to comment for this story. In her resignation letter in February, Williams wrote diversity, equity, and inclusion was considered more of an extracurricular activity within the Worcester city government, saying a CDO needs more than a title to succeed. Building a commitment To Batista, creating that foundation starts with a strong mission and vision. "One of the key primary things that shows that a city is ready is the city itself creating a mission and vision around diversity, equity, and inclusion. If we don't have that … then our chief diversity officer comes in and feels like there's no direction," he said. Harvey echoed this sentiment. She has held her position in Arlington since 2019 and said her work has been doable because the rest of the administration has a clear commitment to diversity work. "Seeing their vision is really what made me confident that this was an investment for the town," she said. Batista did not share any details about the content of the racial equity audits, nor what that structure might look like, but said it will become more clear in when he presents the report to City Council later in September. He did confirm the City is still planning to eventually hire a single chief diversity officer, rather than pivot to other models, like a committee or task force. Harvey, who received funding to hire two additional coordinators for her department in Arlington, said a larger diversity team is oen necessary for municipalities. "Sometimes one single person is not Continued from page 11 F O C U S D I V E R S I T Y & I N C L U S I O N Diversity in Worcester's city government workforce Source: City of Worcester website 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Approximately 26.4% of Worcester's population is non-white, according to 2020 Census data LEAD SPONSOR 20 TH ANNIVERSARY SPONSORS 20 TH ANNUAL STEPPING UP FOR GIRLS SPONSORS (AS OF 8/30/22) Twenty years of celebrating women's philanthropy, leadership, and empowerment of adolescent girls in Central Massachusetts. More details to follow. Contact Emily McCann at Emily.McCann@unitedwaycm.org for sponsorship opportunities. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2022 5–7PM OFF THE RAILS 90 COMMERCIAL STREET WORCESTER, MA Go to unitedwaycm.org/womens-initiative-events to learn more. WomInitiativeCM WomensInitiativeCM T H A NNIVE R S AR Y Save the date CORPORATE SPONSORS Little House Capital National Grid Saint-Gobain Seven Hills Foundation UMass Chan Medical School Unum SUPPORT SPONSORS Bay State Savings Bank Coghlin Electrical College of the Holy Cross Cornerstone Bank Fletcher Tilton Fontaine Bros. Imperial Distributors Main Street Bank Kerri A. Melley, Commonwealth Financial Group Point32Health Sullivan Group UniBank Webster Five Worcester State University MARKETING SPONSOR Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce MEDIA SPONSORS WICN Public Radio Worcester Business Journal

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