Several Massachusetts banks are part of a group of 70 Massachusetts CEOs and business leaders that have launched a coalition to focus on early child care and education: the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education.

“Raising awareness about the need for a more robust and sustainable network of early child care and education has become increasingly urgent due to the devastating financial impacts caused by COVID-19 on an already fragile system,” the Massachusetts Business Coalition for Early Childhood Education said in a statement. “Without greater funding, high-quality child care, already too limited, runs the risk of becoming more so, and burdening more women and people of color with additional roadblocks to advancing their careers. In addition, lack of access to early child care and education creates learning and developmental gaps, even before kindergarten, that are harder to overcome as a child grows up, and often disproportionately puts the most vulnerable children as well as children of color at greater risk.”

The coalition is led by co-chairs Jon Bernstein, regional president of Boston for PNC Bank; Bob Rivers, CEO and board chair of Eastern Bank; Roger Crandall, chairman, president, and CEO of MassMutual; Linda Henry, CEO of Boston Globe Media Partners; and Bridget Long, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Other banks joining the initiative include BayCoast Bank, Berkshire Bank, Cape Cod Five, Dedham Institution for Savings, Greylock Federal Credit Union, HarborOne Bank, Leader Bank, M&T Bank, Needham Bank, PeoplesBank, Seamen’s Bank, South Shore Bank and State Street Corp.

“Quality child care and early learning programs are fundamental to the success of our local economy,” Bernstein said. “All children deserve high-quality early learning experiences that prepare them for school and will have a lifelong positive impact. This is why, for 16 years, PNC has committed its resources to high-quality early childhood education; with a mission to impact school readiness and contribute to stronger, smarter and healthier children, families and communities.”

The coalition plans to advocate for policies and programs that make early child care and education more readily available to Massachusetts workers; identify opportunities to improve program access, affordability and quality; collaborate around employer best practices for supporting early childhood needs; and focus on advancing equitable child care solutions.

“The business community has a unique opportunity to help lead in an area that betters the lives of children, their parents and families, and the educators who care for them, with obvious benefits to our employees and companies,” Rivers said. “This is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing – it’s good business to invest in a stronger workforce and stronger communities. It’s long overdue for the local business community to step up and drive meaningful change in early childhood, and we thank all the businesses that already have committed to this important work and ask others to join with us.”