June 28, 2001
Edison outranks all utilities in Fortune's annual workplace diversity survey.
ROSEMEAD, Calif., June 28, 2001-Southern California Edison is the nation's top-ranking utility for diversity and one of America's top five companies overall for minorities, according to Fortune magazine's annual workplace diversity survey.
Fortune ranked SCE fourth overall as the best place to work for minorities, which represents a significant leap from 14th place on the magazine's list of 50 companies last year. In the utility sector, the company ranked No. 1, and it ranked third for employment of Latinos and Native Americans, and second in supplier diversity.
The magazine noted that SCE recently completed a 10-year effort that significantly increased the number of managers and business suppliers from underrepresented groups.
"This national recognition is indeed significant, as it acknowledges our company's vision, commitment and efforts to create a first-rate workplace that not only embraces diversity but also reflects the diverse consumer base we serve every day," said Frank Quevedo, SCE vice president for equal opportunity. "As one of the nation's largest electric utilities with nearly 12,000 represented and unrepresented employees, we have made extraordinary efforts over the years to incorporate these corporate values through our recruitment, career development, and procurement policies and practices. While we have achieved notable successes, we continue to build on them to fully realize our vision."
The annual Fortune corporate diversity survey is a joint effort between the business magazine and the nonprofit Center for Responsibility in Business, which polled all of the Fortune 1000, plus the nation's 200 largest privately held firms and analyzed how the companies compare on 15 different quantitative and qualitative measures-from how well minorities are paid to how many are in management as well as the suppliers a company chooses and the charities it supports.
"That the companies on Fortune's list have maintained a commitment to diversity during a souring economy demonstrates how seriously it is taken by corporate America," Fortune noted in its July 9 issue. "Companies see it as being in their own interest to have a diverse workforce. Those on the list do more than pay lip service to diversity" from the board room throughout the various ranks of management.
This marks the fourth consecutive year SCE has ranked on the prestigious Fortune corporate diversity list. However, this distinction is only the latest testament to SCE's diversity efforts within and outside of the workplace.
Most recently, a coalition of organizations led by the Greenlining Institute, a leading multi-ethnic, public policy center based in San Francisco, identified SCE as having one of the most successful supplier diversity programs in America.
Earlier this year, NEXT STEP magazine ranked SCE among the top companies in America for workplace diversity. In 2000, for the second straight year, LATINA Style magazine named SCE one of the "50 best companies for Latinas to work for in the U.S."
Last July, Fortune recognized SCE for the third straight year as one of America's "50 best companies for minorities." And in 1999, A. Magazine recognized SCE for providing one of "the best work environments for Asian Americans," and named the utility as one of the nation's top five Fortune 500 companies for Asian Americans.
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An Edison International company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving a population of more than 11 million via 4.3 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California.
