Bank earns top score on annual benchmarking report for fourth straight year

BUFFALO, N.Y., July 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- M&T Bank has been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion for the fourth consecutive year by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN, a nonprofit resource for businesspeople with disabilities.

M&T earned the top score in the 2022 Disability Equality Index (DEI), a benchmarking report developed by the AAPD and Disability:IN to help businesses identify steps they can take to achieve disability inclusion and equality in their workplaces. The DEI was developed in consultation with disability advocates and business leaders and measures key performance indicators including culture and leadership, enterprise-wide access, staffing and recruitment, community engagement, supplier diversity, workplace accommodations and information technology capabilities.

Any company that scores 80% or above on the DEI is recognized on the Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion list. M&T has earned a 100% each year since 2019.

"M&T is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team focused on delivering the best service for our customers, colleagues and communities," said Julie Urban, M&T's chief auditor and senior executive sponsor of the bank's Disability Advocacy Network Resource Group. "Our performance on the DEI report this year is once again validation that M&T is a place where all individuals can succeed in an inclusive, accommodating environment."

As part of M&T's employee and community engagement efforts, the bank operates more than 70 employee resource groups – including the Disability Advocacy Network (DAN) Resource Group -- in communities throughout its footprint. The DAN Resource Group includes about 700 employees.

Earlier this year, M&T's DAN Resource Group launched an initiative to map the experiences of employees with disabilities and other DAN members at the bank through a series of surveys and interviews. Insights from the interviews will be used to help M&T achieve its 2025 Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Vision for employees and customers.

The DAN Resource Group also holds events during which its members can share their experiences living with a disability – either first-hand or affecting a family member -- during hour-long virtual sessions that cover topics such as accessibility issues, anxiety, depression and more.   

M&T offers all employees web-based disability awareness training that raises awareness of the challenges people with disabilities face and is intended to foster more constructive and productive interactions with people with disabilities in the workplace.

"The only way M&T can provide a best-in-class customer experience is by providing a best-in-class employee experience," said Glenn Jackson, M&T's chief diversity officer. "When our employees are empowered to be their best selves and empathetic to challenges their colleagues face, we can truly understand what it takes to make a difference in people's lives throughout the diverse communities we serve."

About M&T
M&T Bank Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T's principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, provides banking products and services in 12 states across the northeastern U.S. from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. Trust-related services are provided in select markets in the U.S. and abroad by M&T's Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank. For more information about M&T Bank, visit www.mtb.com.

About the Disability Equality Index
The Disability Equality Index (DEI) is a comprehensive benchmarking tool that helps companies build a roadmap of measurable, tangible actions that they can take to achieve disability inclusion and equality. Each company receives a score, on a scale of zero (0) to 100, with those earning 80 and above recognized as a "Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion."

The DEI is a joint initiative of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the nation's largest disability rights organization, and Disability:IN, the global business disability inclusion network, to collectively advance the inclusion of people with disabilities. The organizations are complementary and bring unique strengths that make the project relevant and credible to corporations and the disability community. The DEI Advisory Committee, a diverse group of business leaders, policy experts, and disability advocates, developed the Disability Equality Index. Learn more at: www.disabilityequalityindex.org.

© 2022 M&T Bank. Member FDIC.

Media Contacts:
National Media, Trade Publications and Buffalo, NY:
Julia Berchou
(716) 842-5385
jberchou@mtb.com

Upstate New York (Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Southern tier, Hudson Valley)
David Lanzillo
(716) 842-5139
dlanzillo@mtb.com

Downstate New York (Westchester, Rockland, NYC and Long Island), New Jersey, and New England:
David Samberg
(201) 368-4515
dsamberg@mtb.com

Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.:
Scott Graham
(410) 244-4097
sgraham1@mtb.com

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SOURCE M&T Bank