When it comes to diversity and inclusion, Overture Promotions (asi/288473) is taking action.

The Top 40 promotional products distributor has reported on a series of diversity initiatives that it’s brought to fruition over the last year.

These include the April 2022 launch of a Diverse Supplier Portal that aims to help increase Overture’s Tier 2 spend.

Overture reached out to 500 diverse-owned businesses with an invitation to sign up in the portal and provide the distributorship’s sales pros with information on their product offerings. In just one month, more than 30 suppliers signed up, enabling Overture to advance its goal of increasing spend with diverse suppliers by 30%.

“Overture is focused on walking our diversity talk,” said CEO Jo Gilley, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people. “We are dedicated to creating a more diverse workforce. Half of our new hires in 2022 have been diverse employees, including two bilingual senior operations managers. We are training our staff to work toward inclusivity, we are celebrating our diversity, and we are creating space for important, awkward conversations.”

Meanwhile, Overture Promotions also announced that its parent company – Canada-based private equity firm Westbridge Capital – has been certified as minority-owned by the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC), which is affiliated with the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) in the United States.

Overture’s employee-led Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council (DIAC) has been hard at work over the last year, too. Through DIAC, all people and process managers at Overture participated in diversity, equity and inclusion training by an outside trainer. The rest of the employees received condensed training.

In addition, Overture established a hiring and training program for disabled veterans with Chicago’s Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, which provides health care for veterans, active-duty military and their families, and military retirees.

The Top 40 firm noted that it employs special-needs young adults in its distribution center, with customized kitting workstations and access to onsite coaching and expanded training. “Our newest initiative is an online private resource group for parents of special-needs kids to share resources and wisdom,” Overture said in a statement.

With reported 2020 North American promo product revenue of $126.9 million, Overture ranked 18^th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry. The 2022 Top 40 list will be revealed this July.