What it will take to make Buffalo Niagara business more equitable | Prospectus | buffalonews.com

Efforts to promote diversity have been going on for many years. Proponents say that there is still a long way to go before the Buffalo Niagara workforce is truly fairer.

Last year, a survey of the "Buffalo Niagara Partnership" confirmed this point. Nearly 3 out of 4 companies responded that they launched an initiative to achieve diversity, but only less than 5 One in ten companies set specific goals for diversity and inclusion, and only one in ten said that they have fully achieved these goals.

Of the 265 companies surveyed, 6% of companies indicated that they are not interested in launching any programs related to diversity and inclusion.

Experts say that support for diversity initiatives must be obtained from the highest level, but partnership surveys show that CEOs and employee-level employees often have different views of their company's practices.

Although 70% of the CEOs surveyed said their organization "maintains a culture that promotes inclusion," less than half of the employees surveyed agree with this statement.

Therefore, there is still much work to be done in the region. This is something that some local leaders believe must be done.

Stephen Tucker is the President and CEO of the Northland Workforce Training Center. 

As the president and chief executive officer of the Northland Workforce Training Center, Stephen Tucker knows what it will take to make the workforce more equitable.

"Sometimes I think this is just a verbal service, check the box. You can adopt a diversity and inclusion plan, but are you interested in establishing a plan to help people progress? Are you supporting the professional development of these people?" He said .

He said that it is necessary to raise awareness of the opportunities that exist for people of color and ensure that they can take advantage of these opportunities. It is also important to ensure that they succeed as soon as they arrive. This means creating a culture that everyone feels cherished.

"When they ask their questions, are you listening? When the questions arise, are you able to have those brave conversations?" Tucker said.

Ensuring that there are people of color in leadership and recruitment positions will also help capitalize on a new and more diverse network of candidates. He gave an analogy: if you fish in the same pond, then you will continue to catch the same fish. The training center will help you.

He said: "We must prepare for talents with technical and educational skills, but we must also cooperate with companies to fish in another pond."

Rose Sconiers, a retired New York State Supreme Court Judge, participated in company equity and diversity issues. She is the chair of the Race Equality Roundtable, an initiative of the Greater Buffalo Community Foundation.

Retired state Supreme Court Justice Rose H. Sconiers said that Buffalo’s diverse corporate leadership requires enlightened board members to open their doors to people of color.

"I think we need to include people of color on the board of certain companies, because who is at the table is important," said Sconiers, vice chairman of the Race Equity Roundtable initiated by the Greater Buffalo Community Foundation.

She said: "The board members must raise this issue." "Some of these boards may think we need to have a more inclusive board, and I think they will really make a difference.

Schoeniers said: "Come from outside and try to get in the car. I don't think this will happen because it's like a closed store."

She said there is still a lack of African Americans in the leadership of the Buffalo company.

"The one thing we haven't cracked yet is the company's board of directors," Scorniers said. "If we really want a diverse and inclusive society, then we must have it where we don't have it."

Carolynn Welch (Carolynn Welch) is the executive director of the Westminster Economic Development Plan.

As one of the most remote cities in the United States, Buffalo is still a long way from its business community reflecting the diversity of the city’s population.

Carolynn Welch, executive director of the Westminster Economic Development Initiative, believes that this is a non-profit organization that provides business training and loans to low-income entrepreneurs.

She said this will not be a quick or easy fix.

Welch said: "The problems that plague our black and brown communities stem from countless systemic injustices and cannot be attributed to one cause."

As a result, there will be no solution. Welch said that many deep-rooted systemic changes must be made to create successful capabilities and opportunities in all communities of color, and these changes must be bottom-up. 

She said: "It sits down with the brown and black communities, really, really listens to what needs to happen, and then works together."

She said that this requires more than just the company's mission statement or funding to create more plans.

She said: “All of us must put our self-discipline on the door, roll up our sleeves, and get ready to start work.” “To make a real change, we need to be willing to dismantle the existing system and use it to provide fairness and Supported systems replace them."

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Thomas Beauford Jr. is the President and CEO of City Alliance.

The new president and CEO of the Buffalo Urban League, Thomas Beauford Jr., stated that recruitment, development and retention are at the core of racial equality and diversity in workplace and corporate leadership.

Beauford was appointed last August and has more than 20 years of experience in the field of strategy and operations management (mainly in the financial services industry).

He said the company may have to be deliberate when setting goals to achieve the composition and composition of its business look.

If this does not happen, someone may be responsible.

Companies should train diverse talents through guidance and advocacy, because minorities usually do not have traditional networks that "organically" appear in other cultures. In these cultures, candidates already "know someone" or have a relationship with the company. Someone who has social connections is hired, Boford said.

Boford said it was an "informal mentor." It is an advocate, "Speak to you when you are not in the room and provide you with opportunities, or at least make your name ring."

Retaining diverse talents also involves company investment and patronage of "black and brown" culture and experiences, such as restaurants, education, and commercial centers.

Boford said: "You just can't sell it."

Rupa Shanmugam is the President and Chief Executive Officer of SoPark in Lackawanna. 

Rupa Shanmugam has been a pioneer all his life.

This Malaysian native studied engineering when almost all his classmates were men. She later became the chief executive officer and majority shareholder of SoPark Corp., an electronics manufacturer in Lapavanna, when manufacturing companies were usually led by men and even now.

The top leadership of SoPark is 67% women. Its total employment is 53% of women and/or ethnic minorities, and 10% of foreign-born American citizens are from different countries.

Shanmugam said: "Diversity and inclusion are not a process." "This requires a series of actions to make positive changes in the way organizations are established and how businesses are conducted. This also involves the establishment of networks in minority communities to improve Understand each other’s views well."

Shanmugam stated that it is very important for business leaders to regularly contact leaders of minority communities and participate in their activities.

She said that recruiters should expand their job search, go beyond conventional posting methods, and promote career opportunities through ethnic minority media channels.

She said: "In order to build the foundation for the future, it is very important for companies to invite students from different groups of schools and higher education to participate, including work shadows, summer jobs and internships."

Dottie Gallagher is the President and CEO of Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership evaluated the diversity, fairness and inclusiveness of businesses in the Buffalo Niagara region this year.

The results are displayed.

Dottie Gallagher, President and CEO of Buffalo Niagara Partnership, said: "As 72% of companies begin their (diversity, equity and inclusion) journey, only 5% of companies achieve their diversity goals, and there is still a lot to do. "

Gallagher said that the next step for companies to promote greater diversity depends on where they are now.

She said that employers who are just starting to work on this issue need to commit to this process and learn more about how to do it.

Gallagher said that companies that have already started this process need to appoint a person or a committee to manage the work.

She said that in the future, employers should have specialized professionals or committees to set measurable targets for hireable personnel, not only to make a commitment to hired personnel, but also to make a commitment to policy changes that promote work inclusiveness.

Gallagher said: "This is a journey that every company must treat individually."

She said: "The evaluation shows that whether you are a small company or a large company, a for-profit employer or a non-profit company, every company is moving along this continuum."

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Deputy Business Editor

I am the deputy business editor of news. I grew up in New Hampshire, studied at Syracuse University, and started working for News in 1985.

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