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Are Buffalo Niagara employers embracing diversity?

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Buffalo News - Matt Glynn | Tuesday, Nov 1, 2022

BUFFALO, N.Y. (Buffalo News) — Local employers are making headway on diversity, equity and inclusion, but they've still got work to do.

Those are some of the themes from the latest assessment by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, two years after the business group conducted an initial survey.

Dottie Gallagher, the Partnership's president and CEO, said the effort employers put into diversity can have a meaningful impact.

"Our future as a region and our economic prosperity depends heavily on building equity for everybody who’s in our community," she said.

In the latest assessment, 79% of companies said they had started their diversity, equity and inclusion work, up from 72% two years ago. Of the 21% that hadn't started, their reasons included a lack of commitment from leadership, and the small size of their companies. A total of 271 individuals in Erie and Niagara counties responded to the assessment.

There was a 120% increase in companies that had set measurable and concrete goals, Gallagher said. "There is still great room for improvement but the needle is moving in the right direction." Those goals include procurement; the percentage of employees who are Black, indigenous and people of color; marketing practices; and community outreach.

Read more here.

In Honor of Small Business Week, BNP Opens Doors to Regional Small Businesses

By communications@thepartnership.org | May 8, 2025

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership (BNP) will host an exclusive tour day on Thursday, May 29, dedicated to small businesses throughout the Buffalo Niagara region. This special event is designed to recognize and celebrate the critical role small businesses play in driving the regional economy.

Statement From BNP President and CEO Dottie Gallagher RE: Mayoral Transition

By communications@thepartnership.org | October 15, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 15, 2024 MEDIA CONTACT: Josh Veronica, Director of Government Affairs jveronica@thepartnership.org Official Statement from Dottie Gallagher, President and CEO of Buffalo Niagara Partnership “The BNP thanks Mayor Byron Brown for his two decades of service to our City. The City has grown tremendously under Mayor Brown’s leadership. We wish him well…

Buffalo Niagara Partnership moving HQ to Cobblestone District

By communications@thepartnership.org | September 27, 2024

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership today announced its new headquarters will be at 79 Perry Street in Buffalo’s Cobblestone District.

New wage mandates could put WNY brownfield projects at risk

By communications@thepartnership.org | August 7, 2024

BUFFALO, NY (The Buffalo News) — Developer Rocco Termini is angry. Architect Steve Carmina is upset. Developer and former U.S. Rep. Chris Jacobs is worried. And commercial real estate broker Steve Blake is concerned.

All four have seen the impact of the state Brownfield Cleanup Program and its related tax credits on redevelopment activity in Buffalo, where remediation of polluted buildings and land have paved the way for new apartments, restaurants and stores.

And they say it could all come to a halt because of potential changes to the lucrative program coming out of Albany that would require them to pay higher prevailing wages to workers on those projects. And they’re lobbying Gov. Kathy Hochul to not sign the legislation that would put the prevailing wage requirement into effect.