OUR DEI ASPIRATIONS
FirstEnergy is committed to valuing our employees, and that's reflected in our core value of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). A work environment and culture built on the foundation of DEI delivers better service to customers, innovation, strong operational performance and a safe and rewarding work experience for employees.
DEI is a critical building block of our culture and company strategy and a catalyst to innovation and exploring new ideas. Embracing DEI means challenging assumptions, seeing discomfort as an opportunity to grow, constantly evaluating progress and holding ourselves accountable to our goals.
OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
High-level oversight of diversity, equity and inclusion for our employees belongs to the Compensation Committee of the board. To align with our companywide focus, our board is also committed to a policy of inclusiveness and actively seeks a diverse slate of candidates for director positions. These efforts support the board's goal to maintain a composition of at least 30% diverse members (by gender, race and ethnicity) for the foreseeable future.
Our DEI Council is focused on enhancing workforce diversity, creating an inclusive work environment and providing oversight and guidance for FirstEnergy’s integrated DEI strategy. The DEI Council is comprised of various levels of leaders in the organization. We also recently developed FirstEnergy Utilities Operations DEI Council focused on DEI related strategy and initiatives specific to operations employees including a large represented physical work group.
To read more about our board's focus on diversity, please see the Proxy Statement.
WORKFORCE DIVERSITY
When our team reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, we can better understand and meet our customers’ needs. We have an aspirational goal to achieve a 30% increase, from our 2020 baseline, in the number of racially- and ethnically- diverse employees by 2025 – both companywide and at the supervisor-and-above leadership level.
We monitor our year-over-year progress to help us understand where we are progressing toward our goals and where we may need to make changes.
EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE CULTURE
We’re focused on promoting workplace equity, creating an open and inclusive culture and providing opportunities for employees and leaders to speak up about important DEI topics. The culture we’re building extends beyond compliance, empowering employees to be candid, explore creative solutions, question freely and transform mistakes into opportunities for both individual and company growth.
Key equity and inclusion efforts include:
- Workplace Flexibility: In 2022, FirstEnergy formally adopted guidelines to facilitate flexible work arrangements for eligible full-time and parttime non-bargaining employees. Our office employees can remain highly productive, meeting customer and business needs while promoting enhanced convenience and balance between work and personal commitments.
- Fair and Equitable Compensation: We’re committed to ensuring that our internal policies and processes support pay equity, which was confirmed in a third-party review of our practices in 2019 and continues to be part of our normal ongoing process. Our internal processes ensure pay equity considerations are part of our normal ongoing process.
- Employee Feedback: Throughout the year, employees are given the opportunity to provide feedback about the company’s efforts to advance DEI ideals and culture initiatives within the organization. With employees’ voices to guide us, we’re continuing our transformation to a value and people centered company.
- Employee Business Resource Groups (EBRGs): Our employee-driven EBRGs build inclusivity and connect employees by providing education, professional development, volunteering and networking opportunities to their members and allies. With 21 different chapters of our eight EBRGs, so far, 2,900 employees, or approximately a quarter of our workforce, have taken advantage of this opportunity to connect and grow.
Serves as a resource to FirstEnergy’s people of color and their allies and seeks to further strengthen recruitment, development and advocacy of people of color.
Strives to positively influence the organizational culture to ensure the hiring and development of veterans and to assist the organization in achieving its diversity, equity and inclusion business imperative and aspirations.
Develops current and future women leaders for senior management positions and addresses the challenges of work-life balance.
Enhances the engagement and feeling of belonging of LGBTQ+ and allied individuals within FirstEnergy by fostering a safe, diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment—and to uplift the LGBTQ+ communities that we serve.
Serves as a resource for mental wellness and advocates for employees with physical and mental disabilities and major illnesses, as well as family members and friends who support and assist them. The group is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment where employees of all abilities are empowered to be authentic, valued and respected.
Supports the professional and personal development of women in our customer contact centers and develops women leaders across the company through mentorship opportunities.
Provides workplace support to foster balance between career and family, while raising awareness of issues facing caregivers and taking steps to positively change our culture around caregiving.
Provides opportunities to connect, engage and grow through professional development, education, events and community involvement. The group is committed to our employees’ growth, expanding their knowledge and shaping the future of our company and the energy industry through internal and external opportunities.
DEI RECOGNITION
Our ongoing commitment to DEI remains essential to our forward-looking and future-building strategy, and we continue to earn local and national recognition for our efforts. Since 2020, our company has been named as a leading diversity employer by G.I. Jobs magazine, Forbes, DiversityInc and the National Organization on Disability, with additional awards from the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ), Crain's Cleveland Business magazine and U.S. Veterans Magazine.