Utilities represent one of the least diverse industries in the U.S. today. The call from policymakers, shareholders, and communities for significant social change has driven many U.S. utilities to create diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals in response. Enabling some of this social change is the industry’s transition to becoming more digitized and distributed, which will require significant recruiting and hiring in the coming years.
But, this path toward a diverse and inclusive industry will be difficult. In our work with many utilities, we have identified major challenges that may slow or prevent companies from meeting their DEI goals, and techniques to overcome them. In POWER Magazine, we outline five questions to help utilities drive an effective DEI strategy.