To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Minority Engineer magazine, we
asked progressive employers this question: “What has been the
biggest change in the recruitment, hiring, and promotion of minority
engineers in the past 30 years. Here is what they had to say:
Entergy Corporation
“The biggest changes for minorities in engineering in the last
30 years are the needs of companies to cast a net wider to attract talent
from different sources and the introduction of the Internet. Both of
these have allowed for more information sharing between diverse candidates
and companies. In the past, it was difficult to determine which positions
were open and companies only had limited ability to focus on a few sources.
With the advent of technology, we are able to reach many demographics
that may not have considered our industry in the past. The outlook for
anyone with a career in engineering appears to be positive. The need
to replace the current grid system, enhance the capabilities of current
equipment, and the building of new equipment all requires engineering
expertise. Candidates need to explore many opportunities that may have
seemed closed to them in the past such as utilities as we are looking
for diverse talent to move us forward.”
Amy Borrell, Manager of System Staffing, Entergy Corp.
Entergy employs approximately 14,700 people and owns and operates power
plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity.
Entergy is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States
and Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy is a Fortune 500
company with revenues of more than $13 billion in 2008. For more information,
visit www.entergy.com.
Exelon Corporation
“The progress of the last 30 years is encouraging in key respects.
More large employers have come to recognize the value of a diverse and
inclusive workforce and actively recruit and retain minority engineers.
For instance, more than a quarter of Exelon’s engineering interns
who became full-time employees in the past year are members of minority
groups. Nonetheless, African-American, Latino, and American Indian engineers
nationwide are at their lowest numbers in two decades. I am hopeful
that public education improvements and increased focus on the disparity
will result in reversal of this unacceptable trend well within the next
30 years.”
Peggy Davis, Vice President, Diversity and Recruitment, Exelon Corporation
Exelon Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, IL, is one of the nation’s
largest electric utilities with approximately $19 billion in annual
revenues. Exelon distributes electricity to approximately 5.4 million
customers in Illinois (ComEd) and Pennsylvania (PECO), and gas to 485,000
customers in the Philadelphia area (PECO). In addition, for energy delivery
Exelon’s operations include energy generation and power marketing.
Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon trades on the NYSE under the ticker
symbol EXC. Thought leadership, innovation and passion are keys to success
in the energy industry and are embodied by Exelon’s executive
leadership. To find out more about what the company’s executives
are discussing, Search our job listings and post résumés
at www.exeloncorp.com/careers.
