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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.

Buffalo Niagara Partnership Releases 2023 Member Pulse Report

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | October 24, 2023

BUFFALO, N.Y. — For the third consecutive year, difficulty finding and retaining qualified talent ranked as the top concern of BNP members, with three quarters reporting that they have unfilled positions. The impact of inflation and higher interest rates raised market conditions to the second concern after spending several years further down the ranking.

Poloncarz, Casilio give divergent views at county exec candidates forum before business group

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | September 22, 2023

Democrat Mark Poloncarz and Republican Chrissy Casilio couldn’t have been more different in their answers Thursday at a forum hosted by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

Tech hub competition draws flurry of applications

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | September 22, 2023

BUFFALO, NY (The Buffalo News) — The joint bid by Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse to secure potentially tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for a “tech hub” faces stiff competition.

But the partners in the bid say they believe their regional approach will give them a leg up in the competition.

This Labor Day weekend, consider the need to help ourselves

By mcotter@thepartnership.org | September 7, 2023

As family and friends come together to celebrate Labor Day and honor the working men and women who are the lifeblood of our economy, it seems appropriate to reflect on the kind of workforce our community needs now and in the future.