Pride Lives Here: BMO joins the Tent Partnership for Refugees

• BMO Pride Enterprise Resource Group to mentor 50 LGBTQ2+ newcomers to North America

TORONTO and CHICAGO, June 17, 2021 /CNW/ - BMO Financial Group announced today that it will be joining the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a global business network which mobilizes companies around the world to support refugees. Through this program, BMO and the BMO Pride Enterprise Resource Group are committing to mentoring 50 LGBTQ2+ newcomers to Canada and the U.S. over the next 3 years.

"Joining the Tent Partnership for Refugees supports our Purpose-driven commitment to grow the good for society with zero barriers to inclusion," said Tracie Morris, U.S. Chief Human Resources Officer, BMO. "By joining this global network, we are providing access to opportunities and enabling growth for our colleagues, our customers and the communities we serve."

Founded by Chobani's founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya in 2016, the Tent Partnership for Refugees rallies the business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of 30 million refugees forcibly displaced from their home countries. Tent believes that companies are uniquely positioned to alleviate the global refugee crisis by leveraging their networks, resources, innovation, and entrepreneurship to integrate refugees into the global economy. To date, over 160 global companies are currently members of the network.

"We're thrilled to have BMO join the Tent network of over 170 global companies committed to supporting refugees by mobilizing their businesses," said Scarlet Cronin Acting Executive Director at the Tent Partnership for Refugees. "BMO has shown great leadership over the past several years through its commitments, and we look forward to making a difference together into the future."

In September 2020 BMO announced its Zero Barriers to Inclusion 2025 strategy, aimed at driving meaningful change and addressing representation gaps for BIPOC and LGBTQ2+ employees, customers, and communities. BMO has set a LGBTQ2+ representation goal of 3 per cent of its workforce.

Additional initiatives and highlights of BMO's work to support and advance LGBTQ2+ rights can be viewed here.

For more information on BMO's Diversity Equity and Inclusion commitments, visit: https://our-impact.bmo.com.

To learn more about the Tent Partnership for Refugees and to see its full list of members, visit www.tent.org/members.

About BMO Financial Group 
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $950 billion as of April 30, 2021, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

About Tent
With more and more refugees displaced for longer periods of time, businesses have a critical role to play in helping refugees integrate economically in their new host communities. The Tent Partnership for Refugees mobilizes the global business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of 30 million refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries. Founded by Chobani's founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya in 2016, the Tent Partnership is a network of over 170 major companies committed to including refugees. Tent believes that companies can most sustainably support refugees by leveraging their core business operations — by engaging refugees as potential employees, entrepreneurs, and consumers. Find out more at www.tent.org.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

For News Media Inquiries: Natasha Boeck, BMO Financial Group, Toronto, [e-mail], [phone]