Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 23, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 21 BY EDWARD BASSETT Special to WBJ 1. Minimum auto insurance cover- age does not protect assets. Massachusetts requires relatively low auto insurance limits. While those limits satisfy legal require- ments, they are oen insufficient to protect personal or business assets aer a serious accident. 2. Auto insurance is a risk-management decision, not a routine purchase. For business owners and professionals, auto insurance should be viewed as part of an overall financial protec- tion strategy, not simply as a recurring expense. 3. Liability exposure can extend well beyond the vehicle. A serious accident can create claims that reach person- al savings, real estate, and future income. Coverage limits should reflect what you have to protect. 4. Underinsured motorist coverage protects you from other drivers' inadequate insurance. Many drivers carry only minimal coverage. Under- insured motorist coverage allows your own policy to help cover injuries and losses when the at-fault driver's insurance falls short. 5. Umbrella policies provide critical excess protection. An umbrella policy adds an extra layer of liability cov- erage beyond auto and homeowners insurance and can be an important safeguard for individuals with significant assets. 6. Medical payments coverage can reduce financial disruption after an accident. is coverage can help pay medical expenses without later reimbursement claims from health insurers, helping preserve settlement value and reduce out-of-pocket costs. 7. A knowledgeable insurance agent can help identify coverage gaps. Working with an experienced agent allows you to review coverage options, understand tradeoffs, and adjust limits based on your assets, family, and business exposure before a problem arises. 8. Insurance coverage should evolve as assets and responsibilities grow. As businesses expand, families change, and assets accumulate, insurance coverage should be reviewed regu- larly to ensure it remains aligned with current risk. Edward Bassett is an attorney at Worcester law firm Mirick, who specializes in personal injury and product liability cases. BY ERIN JANSKY AND JULIE BOWDITCH Special to WBJ T he professional world was historically designed around a male worker with a wife at home. Over time, rightly so, com- panies began building policies to support working parents: maternity leave, nursing rooms, bonding time, flexible schedules for school pickup, and expanded family benefits. at evolution was hard fought and necessary. But as workplaces modernize these policies, busi- ness leaders should take one additional step: examine whether assumptions about women and caregiving are unintentionally shaping workplace expectations and opportunities. Today's workforce includes a growing number of women without children, yet many workplace cul- tures still implicitly frame women through the lens of motherhood. Addressing this blind spot doesn't require dismantling policies that support parents; it simply requires expanding how organizations think about equity, flexibility, and contribution. Child-free women oen find themselves in a pro- fessional in-between. ey are not protected by the motherhood narrative, yet many of the assumptions about women's roles still apply. ey are frequently presumed to have greater availability, quietly expect- ed to be more flexible, and oen absorb additional emotional labor in the workplace. In many offices, they become the default "available one." At the same time, they may still encounter questions, implicit or explicit, about why they don't have children. Demographic trends suggest this conversation will only become more relevant. Birth rates continue to decline, and women are choosing to have children later in life, or not at all. Among U.S. women ages 20 to 39 in 2024, roughly 52% had not yet given birth, a historic high, according to the Census Bureau. By ages 40 to 44, nearly one in five women has not become a mother. Education and career orienta- tion correlate with higher rates of childlessness. Many women are increasingly positioned to pursue careers in ways previous generations could not. For business leaders and HR professionals, the takeaway is simple: evaluate workplace norms with fresh eyes. Do assumptions about availability influence who gets late-day meetings, stretch assignments, or travel oppor- tunities? Are flexibility policies framed only around parenting, while other forms of responsi- bility remain invisible? Are workplace expectations applied consistently across employees, regardless of family structure? e absence of children does not mean the absence of care or responsibility. Many child-free profession- als support aging parents, siblings, extended family members, community organizations, and civic insti- tutions. ese commitments oen carry significant time and emotional investment, even if they do not appear in traditional workplace policy language. As organizations continue evolving to support working parents, the next step is broader: recog- nizing that employees' lives and contributions are structurally diverse. When workplaces move beyond narrow assumptions about who is available, they create cultures that are fairer, more flexible, and ulti- mately stronger for everyone. Erin Jansky is the chief human resources officer at Webster First Federal Credit Union, and Julie Bowditch is executive director of CASA Project Worcester County. e workplace blind spot on child-free women Erin Jansky Auto insurance and protecting business assets Edward Bassett ADVICE & OPINION VIEWPOINT 8 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT … W W Julie Bowditch "As organizations continue evolving to support working parents, the next step is broader: recognizing that employees' lives and contributions are structurally diverse. When workplaces move beyond narrow assumptions about who is available, they create cultures that are fairer."

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