July 12, 2002

Edison ranks 7th in Fortune's annual workplace diversity survey.

ROSEMEAD, Calif., July 12, 2002-For the fifth consecutive year, Southern California Edison has been ranked as one of the top companies in America for ethnic minorities by Fortune magazine.

In its annual workplace diversity survey in the July 8 issue, Fortune ranked SCE seventh overall as the best place to work for ethnic minorities, graded the utility second-best for both Latinos and Native Americans, and ranked the company third best in supplier diversity, which is the company's outreach effort to provide procurement opportunities for women-, ethnic minority- and disabled veteran-owned businesses.

"It's very gratifying that our company's vision, commitment and efforts to create a first-rate workplace that embraces diversity while reflecting the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural consumer base we serve each day is again being recognized," said Frank Quevedo, SCE vice president for equal opportunity.

"Diversity enriches the work force, making use of everyone's talents," said Bob Foster, president of SCE. "It affords a broader, richer, more fertile environment for creativity and innovation, making SCE an even better company."

For its annual Fortune corporate diversity survey, the magazine sent detailed questionnaires to the Fortune 1,000 companies, plus the largest 200 privately held U.S. companies. More than 130 responded. The survey looked at a company's entire work force-including executives, directors and top managers-as well as compensation and the company's efforts in adhering to a policy of supplier diversity.

The magazine noted that many of the companies that made its list this year "aren't immune to the problems currently plaguing corporate America. Despite such adversity, these companies have not abandoned their commitment to hiring, promoting, and retaining talented employees of all races."

Being recognized again by Fortune magazine as one of the best places for ethnic minorities to work is only the latest distinction earned by SCE for its diversity efforts within and outside of the workplace.  SCE's other diversity accolades include:

  • 2001: 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.
  • 2001, 2000: NEXT STEP magazine ranked SCE among the top companies in America for workplace diversity.
  • 2001, 2000, 1999: LATINA Style magazine named SCE one of the "50 best companies for Latinas to work for in the U.S."  
  • 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 12 million via 4.3 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California.  For more information on the California electricity market, see www.sce.com.