Trahan calls for 'building back better' at Women in Business luncheon

By Mike Labella

HAVERHILL — U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan was in Haverhill on Monday where she advocated for President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act — especially for its funding for child care and family medical leave.

Trahan, D-Westford, was the featured speaker at the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce’s annual Women in Business Conference held at the Phoenician Restaurant on Alpha Street. The program was part of the Chamber’s mentoring, counseling and networking program for women who are looking to advance their careers.

Other speakers included Maureen Lynch, superintendent of Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School; Marcia Paasewe, founder and clinical director of Samaritan Home Care in Westford; and Deborah Wilson, president and CEO of Lawrence General Hospital.

Trahan told a crowd of about 80 local women and men that America doesn’t have paid family and medical leave, and that the country can do better.

Trahan said that as the country moves out of the pandemic and builds back its economy, many women who are reentering the workplace struggle with finding and paying for child care.

“As we look at the opportunities in front of us, we are thinking about women, we are thinking of people of color, and we are thinking of families who are struggling to make ends meet when we talk about building back better,” she said.