Skip to content
Subscribe
Blog
Events
Member Portal
Join Today

Blog

Back to News & Press

In the News

Are Buffalo Niagara employers embracing diversity?

Blog Categories

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.

Related Posts

Business groups in NY back federal assault weapons ban

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | June 6, 2022

BUFFALO, N.Y. (The Buffalo News) — A coalition of business groups in New York State, including the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, is calling for Congress to reinstate a ban on assault-style weapons – an unusual issue for business advocates to throw their weight behind. “While gun control may not be a

Regional Business Organizations Call For Federal Assault Weapons Ban; Say It’s Time For Business Leaders To Speak Up

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | June 6, 2022

ROCKLAND COUNTY, N.Y. (RCBJ) — The New York Business community is stepping out of its usual advocacy and education roles and advocating for gun control; to begin, a coalition of business organizations are calling for a federal assault weapons ban.

Transportation to suburban jobs remains challenge for some city residents

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | May 9, 2022

Erie County recently announced a program designed to assist small businesses that may have lost revenue during the COVID pandemic, helping them with exterior façade upgrades and improvements that will in turn attract new customers, business and revenue. The program will grant eligible small businesses in Erie County up to $40,000 to renovate their storefronts to increase foot traffic into their stores.

Two-year pilot program to support working individuals from public benefits to self-sufficiency

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | May 5, 2022

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Erie County elected officials have launched a “Live Well Erie Workforce Development” program to help fight labor shortage. The CEO of Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Dottie Gallagher, passionately says the project focuses on having solutions to the workforce shortage. “It’s a demonstration project that says you can