Southern Company Issues Second Moving to Equity Report Detailing Equity Progress and Impact
Workforce increases in overall representation of people of color and women, increased spending with larger group of minority business enterprises and investments in racial equity and social justice community initiatives highlight some of actions taken over past year
Southern Company continues to make strides in its diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) work, according to the company’s second Moving to Equity report, released today. The report details the company’s commitment, progress and actions taken to further advance equity within the company and its communities.
Southern Company launched its Moving to Equity framework in 2020. The Southern Company Management Council decided to focus its efforts on five key areas: talent; workplace environment; community investment and social justice; civic engagement; and supplier inclusion.
The Moving to Equity report published this week reiterates Southern Company’s commitments to these pillars, tracks progress of long-term goals, highlights key results and outlines how the company has and will continue to hold itself accountable.
Key takeaways from the report for 2022 include:
- Overall representation of people of color and women both increased from the prior year as outreach, recruitment, hiring and retention of diverse talent remains a priority.
- Further expansion of DE&I-focused and employee-led groups, with new groups launching focused on HBCU alumni, LGBTQIA+ and Hispanic/Latinx communities, and expansion of DEI training.
- More than 60% of Southern Company employees completed at least one DE&I course in 2022.
- $2.1 billion spent with diverse suppliers, including 94 new diverse suppliers. Southern Company has a goal of increasing its total diverse spending to 30% by 2025. The company has increased its spending with diverse businesses to 28% through 2022.
- $225 million committed through 2025 to advance racial equity and social justice in the company’s communities. More than $142 million has been invested in total since 2021, including more than $76 million in 2022.
“Over the past three years, we have made great strides in advancing our Moving to Equity work,” said Tom Fanning, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company. “Though we have made real progress and I am proud of what we have accomplished, there is still work to be done. We will continue to be steadfast and persistent as we advance equity every day. We are committed to making this work a sustaining effort, because, in the end, everyone will be better off for it.”
Follow our equity journey throughout 2023 on Boldly Forward.
For further reading and information about our equity and sustainability efforts, visit our data, downloads and reports page.
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