Supplier diversity spend is a metric a company can use to measure its commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion. It’s a reason why Public Service Enterprise Group officials are proud of the fact that the company achieved a new record for the sixth consecutive year — buying 28% of all applicable purchases from diverse vendors.
PSEG officials, however, said they are committed to doing so much more.
This morning, the company released its first-ever Diversity, Equity & Inclusion report, one it said reinforces its commitment to confront bias and promote equity — efforts that will help PSEG drive change in the workplace while creating a workforce of the future.
The report highlights the company’s Inclusion for All strategy, as well as its progress toward building a culture that respects and celebrates the diversity of its workforce; recruiting, developing and retaining diverse talent; and being a positive force for the many unique communities it serves.
It also provides an update on the company’s 2020 pledge to Gov. Phil Murphy and the New Jersey CEO Council to, working together, hire or train 30,000 residents with a focus on underrepresented communities of color and other underserved communities by 2030. That focus includes a commitment to spend an additional $250 million on procurement with state-based, diverse companies by 2025.
“We are on a journey, bolstering our commitment to a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, and taking concrete actions that will lead to meaningful and sustainable change, both inside PSEG and throughout our communities,” PSEG Chairman and CEO Ralph Izzo said.
“Reflecting, valuing and leveraging a diverse workforce, and developing and retaining people with different life experiences, brings better ideas and the best solutions. This is essential to achieving the goals before us: the transition to a stronger, carbon-free economy, tackling climate change, preserving our nuclear fleet, modernizing critical energy infrastructure and restructuring and reimagining our business.”
Highlights in the report include:
- Governance: The company is holding itself accountable by making DEI part of its annual companywide incentive program and reporting performance to the PSEG board of directors.
- Leadership training: The company has several leadership training programs to elevate traditionally underrepresented groups. In 2021, PSEG added additional leadership development programs to support and advance people of color. In addition, the number of participants in the company’s existing leadership development program for women has doubled in the last year, with more than a third of participants moving into new positions after completing the program.
- Confronting bias: More than 200 of PSEG’s senior leaders are participating in an ongoing CEO-led inclusive leadership development program. PSEG has trained hiring managers and recruiters on how to promote equity and eliminate bias in the hiring process.
- Representation: Following an enterprise-wide disability inclusion campaign in 2020, the number of employees who self-identified as living with a disability increased by more than 300%.
- Inclusion: The company recently published a formal LGBTQ+ Inclusion Pledge to reinforce its commitment to this community.
“This report tracks significant milestones in our efforts to recruit and develop diverse talent, to build a culture that respects and celebrates our approximately 13,000 unique employees, and to be a positive force for the many diverse communities we serve,” Izzo said in the report. “Since our company was founded more than 118 years ago, PSEG’s purpose has been to improve the lives and opportunities of our customers, our employees and the world around us. Today, we are on a continuing journey to bolster our commitment to a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.”
Izzo said the Inclusion for All initiative, launched this year, represents PSEG’s enhanced enterprise-wide, multiyear DEI strategy to address the needs of an ever-changing society and workplace.
Through Inclusion for All, PSEG is working to:
- Increase the representation of people of color and women throughout its workforce, particularly within management and union-represented roles;
- Sustain an inclusive and equitable workplace where all employees are engaged, feel psychologically safe and can innovate and effectively achieve the company’s business priorities.
Izzo said PSEG recognizes that equity is critical to helping all employees to thrive, ensuring that the benefits and opportunities of working at PSEG are accessible equally to all employees. He said this is especially important as so many struggle with the challenges of work-life balance exacerbated by the pandemic.
As a result of a comprehensive equity review of policies and programs, PSEG did the following:
- Expanded its paid parental leave policy;
- Updated its annual incentive program to allow greater flexibility for employees who take extended leave, including maternity leave.
PSEG’s efforts already are earning accolades.
PSEG was recently named one of America’s Most Responsible Companies 2022 by Newsweek, an award that recognizes PSEG’s accomplishments across environmental, social and governance measures.
PSEG also was also recently recognized in the Top 100 Best Employers for Veterans by Forbes.
While the company is pleased to receive recognition for what it has done, Izzo said the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion report hopes to highlight what the company has planned moving forward.
“With this report, we hope to share that journey with our many stakeholders,” he said. “PSEG’s focus on DEI is multifaceted. We understand that diversity embraces the full breadth of all people, their ideas, thoughts and perspectives, and a vast blend of organizational and human characteristics, experiences, needs and traditions.
“As a leader in the energy sector, we know that reflecting, valuing and leveraging diversity is essential to attract, develop and retain people with different minds who bring us better ideas and the best solutions.”
