August 29, 2005

ROSEMEAD, Calif., Aug. 29, 2005, 2005—For the seventh consecutive year, Southern California Edison (SCE) ranks as one of the “best 50 companies for Latinas to work for in the United States,” according to LATINA Style magazine’s annual survey evaluating corporate America’s responsiveness to the needs and aspirations of Latinas. The survey appears in the August edition of LATINA Style.

SCE, an Edison International company, was ranked in the top tier of the more than 700 U.S. corporations evaluated as part of the survey.  The survey did not numerically rank those on the list. 

“We’re pleased to again be recognized by LATINA Style for our efforts to respond to employee needs, things like dependent child care support, work-life balance, and educational and leadership opportunities,” said Frank Quevedo, SCE vice president for equal opportunity. “And it’s especially satisfying to be recognized seven consecutive years.  We will stay focused on providing a work environment that embraces diversity and where all employees have the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

The magazine’s evaluation was based upon issues identified by LATINA Style as most important to its readers, among them a company’s number of Latina executives, mentoring programs, educational opportunities, dependent/child care support, benefits, and women’s issues.

LATINA Style recognizing SCE as one of the best places for ethnic minorities to work is only the latest accolade earned by SCE for its diversity efforts within and outside the workplace.  Also this month, for the eighth consecutive year, Fortune magazine named SCE one of the top companies for ethnic minorities in America.

At SCE, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, ethnic minorities make up 45.7% of the work force, 29.7% of senior officials, managers and high-level professionals, and 53.7% of new hires.
Being recognized for seven consecutive years by Latina Style as one of the best places for Latinas to work is just one of several distinctions earned in recent years by Southern California Edison for its diversity efforts within and outside of the workplace.  SCE’s other diversity accolades include:

  • 2005-1999: Fortune magazine has named SCE as one of the top 50 companies in America for ethnic minorities for eight consecutive years.  
  • 2004-2003: The Human Rights Campaign, a national source of information on workplace policies and laws addressing sexual orientation and gender identity, gave SCE a 100% rating two consecutive years in its “corporate equality index,” a measure of how companies treat their gay, lesbian, and transgender employees.
  • 2003: SCE received an “Excellence in Practice” citation from the American Society For Training and Development for it diversity strategy.
  • 2002: Catalyst recognized SCE and its parent company, Edison International, for the representation of women in their executive ranks. 
  • 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.
  • 1999: A. Magazine recognized SCE as one of the nation’s top five Fortune 500 companies for Asian Americans and for providing one of “the best work environments for Asian Americans.”

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An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of more than 13 million via 4.6 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California.