ENABLING A CULTURE OF INCLUSION.
“CHOOSING TO SELF-IDENTIFY A DISABILITY IS A PERSONAL CHOICE BUT IT HELPS ILLUSTRATE HOW ALL EMPLOYEES BRING UNIQUE TALENT AND ADD VALUE ACROSS ALL ASPECTS OF OUR BUSINESS.”
Debbie works in our Energy Procurement Management team that ensures our customers have electricity to meet their needs through the output of SCE-owned generation plants and purchased electricity from independent generators.
Besides her daily responsibilities, she supports worthy causes including Edison’s Safety and Emergency Preparedness and health and wellness efforts. She is an active member of numerous Employee Resources Groups including A.B.L.E., our Employee Resource Group championing inclusivity and community for SCE employees with disabilities and family members or caregivers of individuals with disabilities. In addition, she champions Caregivers Connect, our Employee Resource Group that provides advocacy and resources for various types of families, including families with a new child or aging parents.
While adding value to her team and being very involved with different groups to support a safety and inclusive culture, she also has lived with a rare inflammatory illness for multiple years. Outside of her own experience, Debbie also knows what it’s like to have close family members deal with their own health challenges.
Debbie has been resilient and uses her personal experience as a role model to help fellow colleagues live with a disability and thrive in their daily life — both at home and at work.
“We need everyone to feel and be safe in our homes, at work, and in our communities,” she said.
Edison is deeply committed to enabling a culture of inclusion. Employees like Debbie are helping drive this paradigm shift to earn recognition such as being named one of Disability Equality Index® Best Places to Work through American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and Disability:IN.
We asked Debbie a few questions about diversity and inclusion at Edison:
How would you describe SCE’s commitment to inclusion in the workplace for people with disabilities?
Since I started working at Edison in 2000, the company’s mission has always been consistent in their commitment to include people with disabilities. I remember riding the shuttle from the train station and we would share our space with a service dog for an employee. We also had an employee who worked and trained service animals. It was interesting to see him and the dog walk the halls as it learned the behaviors needed to become an important part in a disabled person’s life. In recent years, this inclusion effort has been increased and emphasized with the addition of new employee resource groups and leadership support. The philosophy is to bring people together with diverse perspectives and experiences and enable them to bring their best to their job.
Why is it important to advance the journey in inclusion at SCE and beyond?
Life and work would be so boring if we all looked, acted, and thought alike. We need different experience and perspectives to learn and grow in this life. I will never know what it is like to be Black, Asian, or Hispanic. I will never know what it is like to be part of the military and put my life on the line for others. However, I do know what it is like to be an older woman in the workplace, be disabled, a mother of special needs family members. What I can do is empathize with different walks of life that we all experience and work to understand and make this life better for all human beings on this earth.
Which actions that are being taken by Edison to enable a culture of inclusion are you most proud of?
I am the most excited over the SAFE24/7, Caregivers Connect and ABLE ERG groups. Regardless of your nationality, race, ethnicity, or lifestyle, we all need safety, caregiving, and health & wellness support in our lives.
