Local Data

Education & Employment

Of the 100 largest employers in the Buffalo region, only 28 are led by women executives.

Source: Buffalo Business First (2023). Largest Buffalo Employers 2023.

In WNY, women make up over 51% of the population, 49% of the workforce, and 53% of the college graduates with at least a bachelor’s degree.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016a). S0101: Age and sex: Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY Metro Area; Jamestown-Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY Micro Area [Data file]. Available from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/guided_search.xhtml

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016b). B23001: Sex by age by employment status for the population 16 years and over: Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY Metro Area; Jamestown-Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY Micro Area [Data file]. Available from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/guided_search.xhtml

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016c). B15001: Sex by age by educational attainment for the population 18 years and over: Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY Metro Area; Jamestown-Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY Micro Area [Data file]. Available from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/guided_search.xhtml

WNY women are more educated than men - 53% have completed at least some college.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016c). B15001: Sex by age by educational attainment for the population 18 years and over: Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY Metro Area; Jamestown-Dunkirk-Fredonia, NY Micro Area [Data file]. Available from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/guided_search.xhtml

Government

Percentage of women in state legislatures: US average: 32.7% NYS average: 34.3% Erie County average: 20%

Source: Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). 2023. “Women in State Legislatures 2023.” New Brunswick, NJ: Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/levels-office/state-legislature/women-state-legislatures-2023 & Erie County Board of Elections. Public Officials, updated July 10, 2023 & Village Officials, updated May 23, 2023. https://elections.erie.gov/PublicOffice

The Buffalo Common Council has no women.

Source: https://www.buffalony.gov/387/Common-Council-Members

In Erie County, 4 of 17 mayors are women (23.5%) and 2 of the 11 members in the Erie County Legislature are women (18.2%).

Source: Erie County Board of Elections. Public Officials, updated July 10, 2023 & Village Officials, updated May 23, 2023. https://elections.erie.gov/PublicOffice

Only 11% of the combined members of the Erie and Niagara county legislators are women.

Data collected by the WNY Women’s Foundation from websites and personal communication in July, 2017.

Data Collection

Historically, there has been no system in place to gather and monitor data around the number of women in leadership in our WNY community. A major goal of ALL IN is to gather, analyze, and monitor this data. ALL IN collects public baseline data and uses a survey to assess the changes our ALL IN partners and champions are making in their organizations. Data will be reported annually to the community in aggregate form in order to monitor trends in our community.

This data collection process is the first of its kind in WNY. Become a data pioneer and go ALL IN today!