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This year, for the first time, we separated utility companies into their own specialty list instead of including them in The 2008 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^®.

The reason we did this was we felt it was unfair to compare them against other industries, since their work forces and customer bases are so regional. Therefore, measuring them against national and global businesses is inequitable.

Here are the top utility companies and a fact about why each is a strong company for diversity:

Con Edison Co. of New York

The New York City utility is particularly strong in human capital and supplier diversity. Its managers are 33 percent non-white, including 13.25 percent Black, 9.75 percent Latino and 9 percent Asian. The company spends 11 percent of its Tier I (direct contractor) budget with minority-owned suppliers.

Southern California Edison Co.

The utility has strong work/life benefits including a family-pager program, in which expectant mothers and relatives with serious illnesses are given pagers to always have immediate help, and an online management service that provides daily help with issues such as prenatal information, adoption assistance, childcare, pet care, adult care and financial planning. The company has strong employee groups, including separate groups for Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino and American Indian employees.

Reliant Energy

While only 18 percent of the managers at this Texas-based utility are non-white, 31 percent of management promotions went to Blacks, Asians, Latinos and American Indians, showing significant progress.

Pepco Holdings

The Washington, D.C.--area utility has mandatory diversity training for its entire work force, held monthly. Pepco is very strong on philanthropic contributions to multicultural groups, including the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Greater Washington Urban League, the National Organization on Disability and the Hispanic Institute.

Sempra Energy

A longtime national supplier-diversity leader, the California utility spends 18.25 percent of its Tier I (direct contractor) budget with minority-owned suppliers and 7 percent with women-owned suppliers. Sempra offers these suppliers training and financial assistance.

More Top 50 >>

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