At Southern Company, our vision is for a diverse and inclusive workplace to build an energy future that works for every community we serve. Diversity provides valuable marketplace perspective and enhances our ability both to attract and retain diverse talent and to better serve customers.
We believe genuine diversity refers to diversity of thought as well as diversity of human attributes. By embracing our differences, we increase our "cultural bandwidth," our vision to do the right thing and make the right decisions in an ever–changing marketplace.
Our longstanding commitment to be a "citizen wherever we serve" recognizes the power of diversity through supplier diversity programs and philanthropic support of underserved and diverse communities. We have also broadened our sponsorship activities to better reflect the diversity of the customers we serve. In 2017, Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning joined over 350 other CEOs in signing the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ pledge, committing to cultivate a workplace environment where all ideas are welcomed and employees feel comfortable and empowered to discuss diversity and inclusion.
Throughout the Southern Company system, our operating companies and subsidiaries are keenly focused on diversity and inclusion. Many are establishing employee resource groups as a means for employees to meet and interact with others around shared interests and cultural heritage. For example, at Gulf Power, The Hispanic Network brings together employees to discuss common interests and concerns related to their experience with Hispanic culture, including ways to improve the quality and efficiency of customer service to the company's Spanish-speaking communities.
