2021 Transformation Report: Moving to Equity - Flipbook - Page 27
Southern Company commits to promoting an actively
inclusive culture and to ensure that all groups are wellrepresented, included and fairly treated within all levels
of the organization.
We are continuously listening and learning.
We will continue to organize active listening sessions to better
understand the experience of our Black and underrepresented
employees. We will proactively seek feedback through our traditional surveys and focus groups, one-on-one conversations,
town halls and online listening. We will capture this feedback
and openly share how we have leveraged it to refine our commitments and actions.
We will build our racial equity and inclusion muscles.
Inclusion must start in each employee’s individual work environment and is the responsibility of all employees. Therefore,
we will engage all employees in our journey to racial equity
through open dialogues, training and education. We expect
all our employees to commit to continued personal education
on equity and inclusion. We will create annual DE&I training
options for leaders and employees. Inclusive leader training,
including unconscious bias training, is required of all new
supervisors.
We will identify barriers to equity.
An equitable culture is one where all employees feel empowered to be themselves, raise concerns and innovate without
fear of failure. We will work to prevent barriers that may
undermine a sense of empowerment for our underrepresented employees. We also will review and evolve our internal
business practices and policies to ensure advancement of our
social justice goals.
We will increase support of employee resources and
network.
Formal networks of colleagues with shared experiences
and challenges can promote belonging, improve retention
and support development. We will increase our support of
employee-led groups for underrepresented talent and work to
make the resources afforded by them available to all employees. We also will actively lift the voices of these networks and
create platforms for allyship within and across groups.
Southern Company Gas takes stand
against racism amid pandemic
Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have faced
a surge in violence, including the Atlanta spa murders last
spring, amid false accusations related to COVID-19. Hate
crimes against this group in major U.S. cities skyrocketed
nearly 150 percent in 2020 — even as the number of overall
hate crimes fell, according to the Stop AAPI Hate website.
Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that tracks incidents of violence
and harassment against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
in the U.S., reported nearly 3,800 instances of discrimination
against AAPI individuals in 2020. The actual number of incidents could be much higher.
The Southern Company Gas Charitable Foundation has committed $100,000 to charities who help raise awareness of and
strive to end bias against the AAPI community.
“Together as individuals and as an organization, the Southern
Company Gas family of companies is committed to speaking
out against anti-Asian hate and discrimination, ensuring that
all people feel welcomed, valued and respected,” said Bryan
Batson, executive vice president, chief external and public
affairs officer for Southern Company Gas and president of the
Southern Company Gas Charitable Foundation.
Looking Ahead
Focus on education, listening and responding to employees to ensure we provide
a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, while considering the unique impacts of
COVID-19 remote work/re-entry, work-life balance expectations and workforce of the future.
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