Diversity & Inclusion

🔒Auditor: Worcester among hardest-hit communities in unequal Mass Save benefits distribution

A state auditor report has found the Mass Save program provides a skewed distribution of its resources favorably benefitting higher-income communities, with Worcester among the top Massachusetts municipalities negatively impacted. […]

🔒Longtime leader of The Arc of Opportunity to retire

Sixteen years after joining The Arc of Opportunity in North Central Massachusetts as its president and CEO,...

Legendary Legacies awarded $150K for workforce program employing previously incarcerated individuals

Legacy Transport delivers more than 1.8 million pounds of food each year to more than 7,000 monthly households.

O’Brien’s first meeting back at helm of CCC scheduled for October, social consumption hearing delayed

Chairwoman Shannon O'Brien has returned to the Cannabis Control Commission and the agency is delaying the finalization of its long-awaited rules for social marijuana establishments as a result.

Worcester uses $500K Polar Park settlement to launch grant program for minority- and woman-owned construction firms

The City of Worcester is offering grants of up to $25,000 for certified minority- and woman-owned businesses to help expand their capacity for contracting opportunities.

🔒A gathering place for marijuana: Designed to diversify the industry, cannabis cafes are close to reality, although the finances are challenging

Law enforcement and some municipal voices have called for strict regulations for consumption sites. But advocates warn overregulating these businesses will make them stiff and sterile, killing their viability and leaving social equity participants out in the cold

🔒Preparing for disaster: With nonprofits teetering following federal cuts, the United Way has set aside $500K for the next crisis

Realizing federal cuts will impede nonprofits’ ability to respond in time of crisis, the United Way of Central Massachusetts launched the United Response Fund in August.

🔒Menopause at work: Despite costing the U.S. economy $26B a year, menopause remains hush-hush in the office

Workdays missed due to menopause symptoms added up to another $1.8-billion annual loss.

🔒DEI’s not dead: While losing jobs and managing client fears, DEI practitioners are navigating what it means to be inclusive in the Trump era

Equity work has never been easy, and its often uphill battle has been compounded by the President Donald Trump Administration’s crusade to uproot DEI.

State leaders say DEI commitments won’t be swayed by Trump executive orders

Among those invited to speak was Evelyn Carter, a doctor of social psychology and DEI expert, who said there's a lot of disinformation about what DEI means. "I think we got too comfortable relying on the acronym of DEI, and therefore miss precious opportunities to clearly define what we do and why we do it," Carter said.

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