CHICAGO — Exelon President and CEO Chris Crane pledged to share best practices for creating a diverse and inclusive workplace with some of the world’s leading companies by joining the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ initiative. More than 150 CEOs have signed on to the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion. By signing on to this commitment, CEOs are pledging to take action to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, where employees feel encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion, and where actions can be shared across organizations via a unified hub, CEOAction.com.
“At Exelon, we know having a diverse and inclusive workplace makes us a better company,” said Crane. “While there is still much to do, this pledge acknowledges our strong resolve to lead the industry in this important work.”
The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ is led by a steering committee of CEOs and leaders from Accenture, BCG, Deloitte US, The Executive Leadership Council, EY, General Atlantic, KPMG, New York Life, P&G and PwC. The coalition represents more than 50 industries, all 50 of the United States and millions of employees globally. Each signatory has committed to taking the following steps to increase diversity and foster inclusion within their respective organizations and the larger business community:
1. Continue to cultivate workplaces that support open dialogue on complex, and sometimes difficult, conversations about diversity and inclusion: Companies will create and maintain environments, platforms, and forums where their employees feel comfortable reaching out to their colleagues to gain greater awareness of each other’s experiences and perspectives.
2. Implement and expand unconscious bias education: Companies commit to rolling out or expanding unconscious bias education. By helping employees recognize and minimize any potential blind spots, companies can better facilitate more open and honest conversations.
3. Share best known—and unsuccessful—actions: Companies commit to working together to evolve existing diversity strategies by sharing successes and challenges with one another. This will include creating accountability systems within their companies to track their progress and share regular updates.
“We are living in a world of complex divisions and tensions that can have a significant impact on our work environment. Yet, it’s often the case that when we walk into our workplace – where we spend the majority of our time – we don’t openly address these topics,” said Tim Ryan, U.S. Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC and chair of the steering committee for the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™. “CEOs across the country understand this isn’t a competitive issue, but a societal issue, and together we can raise the bar for the entire business community. By sharing best known actions and programs, we are helping to create a more inclusive environment that will encourage all of us to bring our greatest talents, perspectives, and experiences to the workplace.”
As part of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ launch, Exelon has shared its best practices in the areas of retention of women and people of color and building partnerships with diverse suppliers – in the last year alone, the company spent close to $2 billion with minority and women-owned business, up 42% over the prior year. In addition to existing programing related to building a diverse and inclusive culture, the company is planning employee sessions focused on unconscious bias and facilitating productive dialogues on complex issues.
Exelon’s efforts to hire, retain and promote employees from a variety of backgrounds secured the company a spot on this year’s “Top 50 Companies for Diversity,” the national recognition from DiversityInc.
To learn more about Exelon’s innovative workplace policies and practices, visit exeloncorp.com/careers
