Diversity & Inclusion
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is committed to creating awareness about the competitive advantage of having a diverse and inclusive regional business climate through employer education, talent recruitment and procurement.
The benefits of a diverse & inclusive workforce are well known and include enhanced innovation, increased competitive advantage, higher employee engagement and improved talent attraction and retention.
However, recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce continues to be a major challenge and priority for our members. In response to our members’ needs, we have created several programs designed to advance best practices and enable employers to leverage diversity for competitive advantage and promote a workplace culture of inclusion and engagement.

Diversity & Inclusion Executive Exchange:

Diversity & Inclusion Academy:
Designed for business leaders and their staff who understand the benefits of a D&I strategy and are interested in starting or improving a D&I initiative in their organization. This is a comprehensive 2-month, 4 class program for attendees to build a strong foundation in D&I.

Diversity & Inclusion Symposium
The premier event for D&I in the Buffalo Niagara region. Our Symposium is presented annually to empower organizations to come together to learn to start, continue, or accelerate D&I efforts. In 2022, more than 800 people registered.
Diversity & Inclusion Assessment:

2020 Report
Originally undertaken in 2020, the WNY D&I Community Assessment will be repeated in 2022 to understand the changes that have occurred in D&I in WNY in the last two years.
Read the 2022 press release here>
Take the 2022 Assessment> (link open July 18 to Aug. 14, 2022)
Minority Business Initiative:
This initiative seeks to help break through the barriers that have historically challenged minority business ownership and create a pathway to board membership for participants. By giving minority-owned businesses greater access to BNP’s resources, the program’s underwriters aim to help multiply the participant’s success.
Thank You to Our D&I Executive Council Sponsors
PLATINUM SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
EVERGREEN HEALTHÂ |Â Â BOND, SCHOENECK & KINGÂ |Â Â NATIONAL FUELÂ |Â NORTHWEST BANK
Thank you to our D&I Symposium Sponsors
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
ECMCÂ |Â NATIONAL GRIDÂ Â Â |Â Â SENECA GAMINGÂ |Â Â TOMPKINS COMMUNITY BANKING
From the Blog
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There are more jobs open than there are available people to fill them and so the odds are that organizations that have incredible cultures and work practices will win the war for talent.
Read MoreAssessment serves as tool to benchmark and inform WNY’s D&I workÂ
(Buffalo, NY) The Buffalo Niagara Partnership (BNP) is inviting the region’s businesses to participate in an assessment to determine how far the Western New York (WNY) Community has progressed in their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices since the BNP’s first assessment conducted in 2020.
Read More2022 D&I Symposium: Meet Bryan Gill, Panelist
The BNP is pleased to welcome Bryan Gill, Head of Global Neurodiversity at JP Morgan Chase as a panelist at our 2022D&I Symposium: DEI at Work. We will be helping you get to know each presenter, panelist, and moderator in the weeks ahead, leading up to the 5th Annual D&I Symposium
Read More2022 D&I Symposium: Meet Claudine Ewing, Moderator
The BNP is pleased to welcome Claudine Ewing, Reporter/Anchor at WGRZ-TV as a moderator at our 2022 D&I Symposium: DEI at Work. We will be helping you get to know each presenter, panelist, and moderator in the weeks ahead, leading up to the 5th Annual D&I Symposium on June 16th –
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