Diversity Matters: Why Exelon Signed the Equal Pay Pledge
Chris Crane, Exelon President and CEO
Amy Best, Exelon Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer
Equal pay is not only the right thing to do; it’s good business and aligns with our values.
As a company, we have always believed Exelon should reflect the diverse communities we serve. It not only makes us a better community partner; it makes us a better company.
We know an inclusive culture results in greater innovation, market competitiveness, and opportunities for growth. The research is clear on this: McKinsey reports that gender-diverse companies are 15% more likely to outperform their peers. Ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to do the same. Those are compelling numbers. And that’s why a pipeline of diverse talent that shares our values is critical to Exelon’s future.
Today we are taking a major step to expand Exelon’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. We join 44 likeminded companies in signing the White House’s Equal Pay Pledge — formally announcing our commitment to work to end the national gender pay gap once and for all. To date more than 100 companies have signed the pledge.
We join 44 likeminded companies in signing the White House’s Equal Pay Pledge — formally announcing our commitment to work to end the national gender pay gap once and for all.
We recognize that closing the gender pay gap won’t be easy; it won’t be solved just by taking a pledge. It takes hard work. It requires formal goals, strategies, programs and the tracking of progress. But this is not new to us. At Exelon, we’re always creating new initiatives and enhancing existing practices to strengthen our culture of diversity and inclusion.
For instance, over the past 12 months, in partnership with Berkshire Associates, Exelon has performed a robust and comprehensive review of employee pay and performance data in exempt positions, across genders. We found no indicators of systemic gender discrimination in compensation.
Exelon will continue to focus on paying people based on the work they do, performance in their role, contributions to Exelon’s success, and what is competitive in the market. Yet, we recognize that we still have work to do when it comes to equal pay and lower tenures among women.
We’re devoted to creating an environment that allows women to stay in the workforce, grow with us, and move up in the ranks — all with parity of pay. Over the coming months, we plan to introduce new workplace policies to help do just that.
We’re devoted to creating an environment that allows women to stay in the workforce, grow with us, and move up in the ranks — all with parity of pay.
We hope that by publicly sharing our commitments and policy developments, we can help other companies identify strategic ways to achieve equal pay in their workforce and attract, retain and advance diverse talent. Equality requires constant vigilance, but it’s achievable.
Change starts with us: the business community. It starts in our boardrooms, offices, power plants, labs, storefronts, bucket trucks, distribution and call centers, farms and manufacturing plants. It’s time to come together and end pay inequality.
We can’t wait. The time to act is now.
