wbjournal.com | October 16, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 3
that derails a person's career for years, or
even decades. ere are solutions to this
issue, and the first step is for all of us to
acknowledge it is a growing problem.
– Brad Kane, editor
I
n my eight years as WBJ's editor,
I've had some amazing reporters
work in our newsroom. Since
we've tended to hire younger peo-
ple near the start of their careers
– with experience at one or two other
publications under their belts – I've seen
a number of these journalists begin to
build their lives while working at WBJ.
Including myself, two women and two
men journalists in the WBJ newsroom
have either given birth or their wives
have given birth during their time here.
Among this extremely small sample
size, I can say without a doubt the duty
of child rearing impacted the women's
careers far more. When my youngest son
was born, I took some time off work; but
I'm still the WBJ editor. For the other
male WBJ journalist, he also took some
time off when his son was born, kept
his role at WBJ, and eventually took
employment at a larger publication, earn-
ing a higher salary. For both the female
journalists, they le WBJ shortly aer
their children were born and now they
use their talent and expertise in part-
time capacities, teaching and picking up
freelance writing work.
Of course, everybody makes their own
individual decisions that best serve their
lives, and I applaud both my former
reporters for focusing the majority of
their attention on their families. And
as a father of five wonderful children, I
highly encourage everyone to have kids,
despite the challenges. However, the
disruption caused by child-rearing on a
professional's career is both an economic
and societal problem, one still impacting
women far more than men. With the
median yearly cost of care now above
$20,000 per child in Worcester County
– comprising 18% of a family's income,
according to the U.S. Department of
Labor – a parent must earn a significant
wage just to make working worthwhile.
is is untenable, especially as childcare
costs continue to rise.
As we embark on this edition of WBJ,
our annual celebration of female profes-
sionals through our Outstanding Women
in Business awards, we need to consider
the many obstacles still holding women
back in the workplace. e decision to
have and raise children shouldn't be one
Child care costs are a business problem
I N T H I S I S S U E
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 2023. 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 $84.00. For
more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or
contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008.
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
A division of:
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
Staff Writers
Timothy Doyle
tdoyle@wbjournal.com (Real estate,
higher education)
Isabel Tehan, itehan@wbjournal.com
(Health care, diversity & inclusion)
Contributors
Giselle Rivera-Flores, Laura Finaldi,
Monica Benevides, Alan Earls, Susan
Shalhoub, Livia Gershon
Photgraphers
Matt Wright, Edd Cote
Research Director,
Stephanie Meagher,
smeagher@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
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Human Resources Manager,
Tracy Rodwill,
trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Finance, Sara Ward,
sward@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Account Receivable Specialist,
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Audience Development
and Operations,
Leah Allen,
allen@nebusinessmedia.com
Business Office Assistant,
Nicole Dunn,
ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Tom Curtin
tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
6 Stretched too far
Worcester's adoption of environmentally
friendly building codes may hinder life
sciences development, advocates say.
29 Yes, we still need more
women in leadership
Viewpoint opinion columnist Jean
Beaupré, the founding director of the
Institute for Women's Leadership at
Nichols College, says despite progress,
the business world has a long way to go.
4 Central Mass. In Brief
9 Focus on Outstanding Women
in Business
25 The List: Largest woman-owned
businesses
26 Know How
27-28 Movers & Shakers
29 Opinion
30 Shop Talk: Worcester Community
Midwifery
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