Six North Shore communities are partnering to launch a diversity catalog featuring minority- and women-owned businesses.
Lynn, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem, Swampscott and Beverly are launching the publication to improve equity and diversity in municipal contracts and bids, and to provide residents and other businesses with a single, comprehensive catalog.
Businesses must be located within the greater North Shore region and have at least 51 percent of the ownership team in one of the following categories: immigrant-owned, women-owned, minority-owned, service disabled-veteran-owned, veteran-owned, lesbian-, gay-, bisexual- or transgender-owned, and disability-owned business enterprise.
“I am happy to join in this partnership with my North Shore mayoral colleagues to establish a diversity catalog,” said Lynn Mayor Thomas M. McGee. “This will be a useful resource to our local minority- and women-owned businesses to advertise their services, to our constituents who want to support these businesses, and also furthers the city’s efforts for advancing racial equity.”
The catalog will help member municipalities identify diverse businesses and act as a directory and a marketing tool for businesses that wish to offer their services or products to other businesses and institutions within the North Shore region, while increasing diversity in public contracts.
“I’m pleased to partner with our colleagues in Beverly and Swampscott to launch the North Shore Diversity Catalog,” said Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll. “In addition, I am grateful to the leadership of our own Race Equity Task Force members, who have identified and prioritized the need for our communities to be more intentional in how we use our purchasing power, as municipalities and as individuals, to better advance the cause of equity.
“I encourage all businesses and residents in our region to turn to the catalog, once it is published, when planning their purchases and I invite other cities and towns in the region to join us in committing to use the catalog to bring more diversity to our own procurements.”
The collaborative is also planning to host virtual training programs to assist minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBE) in qualifying to meet the Commonwealth’s MWBE designation, which provides more opportunities for contracts and businesses.
“It is so important that we all take some time to support our region’s MWBE businesses,” said Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald. “There are so many great MWBE businesses in our region and now is the time to show how we all can use the power of the purse string to invest in these businesses as we build a more inclusive future,”
The catalog will be published on the participating municipalities’ websites and shared with community partners in the region.
“Peabody is proud to partner with our neighboring communities to launch the North Shore Diversity Catalog,” said Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt. “The diversity catalog will help encourage more equitable awarding of contracts in the marketplace and provide a valuable guide to minority- and women-owned businesses on the North Shore.”
Businesses that believe they qualify and would like to enroll in the North Shore Diversity Catalog are invited to complete the registration form, available in English and Spanish, at www.salem.com/diversitycatalog.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected]
