American Electric Power’s support of the Women’s International Network of Utility Professionals and IEEE Women in Engineering creates a better world for its own women.

Women forge tight alliances at this utility company, where they make up less than a fifth of employees. Up to 85 gather each month at meetings of the Executive Women’s Network to share challenges and successes. Those being considered for a position at the level of director or above are matched with projects that will help raise their profiles and offered extra mentoring and training. Women make up about a quarter of those at or above the VP level: two great examples are Lisa Barton, president of AEP Transmission, and Venita McCellon-Allen, president and CEO of the Southwestern Electric Power Company.

President & CEO: Nicholas K. Akins

VP, HR: Genevieve Tuchow

% of senior managers who are women: 13%

% of corporate executives who are women: 23%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 13%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 13%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 16%

% of the executives running divisions with revenues of more than a billion dollars who are women: 30%

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 20%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 23%

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: <1%

Barbara is mom to Colin (10) and Jackie (6) and hails from Gahanna, OH.

Senior VP—Shared Services Barbara Radous joined American Electric Power in 2001. From 2007 until being appointed to her current position, she served as Senior VP, Commercial Operations, responsible for energy marketing, energy trading, power projects and asset investments, market operations and commercial analysis.

In 2006, Barbara was named VP, Commercial and Financial Analysis, responsible for overseeing mid- and back-office functions, including RTO & commodity settlements, portfolio and margin analysis, financial analysis, cost recovery, generation forecasting, and commercial and contract administration. Prior to that, Barbara served as managing director, hedging and financial analysis.

Barbara holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from the University of  Houston, Clear Lake. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the YWCA of Columbus, Ohio, and serves on the Board of The Childhood League of Columbus, Ohio.

Anyone who works at American Electric Power for 20 hours per week is eligible for family health insurance.

It takes a real leap of faith to trust a new caregiver to look after your child or elderly relative, but this utility company helps employees do just that by offering a variety of solid options. Mothers who have infants, toddlers and kindergartners access subsidized rates at a day-care facility near the Columbus, OH, headquarters; those who live in other locations rely on discounts at a nationwide web of child-care centers. employees receive up to 20 days of backup care annually, which they use to request in-home help ($4 per hour) or visit area facilities ($15 per day). Parents of tweens and teens mingle in company-sponsored support groups; their older kids benefit from counseling, college-coaching programs and scholarships.

Chairman, President & CEO Michael Morris

VP, HR Genevieve Tuchow

Women managers/execs 12% 

Women among top earners 12% 

Women hires in 2010 22% 

Average weeks of fully paid maternity leave offered 4 

Allows new moms to “phase back” into work with reduced hours? Yes

Offers affinity group for new mothers? No

Offers backup childcare? Yes

Employees working flexibly Not tracked

American Electric Power employees needing help with children, spouses or elders can take advantage of 20 days of subsidized backup care annually.

Many moms at this utility giant saw their spouses and adult children lose jobs at other companies in 2009. To help these employee families through the crisis, the company created a website listing all of its financial, child-care and mortgage benefits and promoted free consultations with a financial advisor. It also introduced new budgeting, investing and retirement seminars and opened its mortgage counseling and refinancing program to everyone. Adding spaces at a child-care facility near headquarters helped more parents enjoy sliding-scale fees for care; those with teens took advantage of the company's 42 $7,000 college scholarships. While anyone who works 20 hours per week earns health insurance, there's a new $200 reward for participating in health coaching, screenings or risk assessments.

Chairman, President & CEO Michael Morris

Director, Diversity/Culture Mary Cofer

Women managers, senior managers and corporate execs 11%

Women among top earners 12%

Women on board of directors 21%

Women corporate executive hires in 2009 0%  

Women participating in management or leadership training in the past year* 3%

Women participating in formalized executive succession planning last year* 1%

Women promoted last year who utilized a formal flexible work arrangement 63%

Do formal compensation policies reward managers who help women advance? Yes

 

*Percentages reflect number of women participants versus company’s total female workforce.

AEP donated $32,000 last year to the Excel program for multicultural children, which will use it for scholarships, workshops and educational tours.

Fortunes may have fluctuated at U.S. companies recently, but this utility powerhouse has held steady through the turmoil, losing not one person and cutting not one benefit due to the recession. While its Diversity Council has been in place since 1998, the company has stepped up its efforts to recruit and retain multicultural women: Within each business unit, incentive plans now make it even more desirable for managers to hire women and people of color—and so far, company targets are being met or exceeded. Tough times mean that management is working harder to preserve current employees, too, fostering inclusiveness through mentoring and coaching, among other programs.

Multicultural Women 4%
Chairman, President & CEO Michael Morris
Director, Diversity/Culture Mary Cofer

At American Electric Power, multicultural women represent…
4% of corporate executives
2% of senior managers
1% of the top earners
4% of the company hires
5% of the company losses
13% of participants in mentoring programs
25% of participants in career counseling programs

AEP offers a Power to Generate college scholarship to women and people of color studying technical subjects.

This Midwestern power company strives to give multicultural women an equal shot at high-paying positions (engineer, plant operator, line worker) traditionally held by men. With offices in 11 states, it works to make its presence known in local communities by operating high school buddy programs that pair students and staffers.  Recruiters target multicultural women at schools like the University of Puerto Rico—known to have the highest percentage of female engineering students in the country—and other institutions with diverse student bodies, such as Spellman College, Southern University and Texas A&M. Women who sign with the company can tap an annual $5,250 tuition allowance to further broaden their skills or join mentoring and leadership groups; in 2008, one-third of those who used the tuition benefit were women of color.

U.S. Employees: 20,621

Multicultural Women: 4%

Multicultural Women Managers/Execs: 1%

Chief Diversity Officer: Mary Cofer

Hires who are multicultural women: 7%

Hires who are multicultural men: 15%

Multicultural women managers/execs: 1%

Multicultural men managers/execs: 7%

Top 20% of earners who are multicultural women: 1%

Top 20% of earners who are multicultural men: 7%

Multicultural women on board of directors: 0%

Offers formal compensation program to reward managers who specifically help multicultural women advance: YES

Rates managers on the number of multicultural women employees advancing: YES

Uses outside recruiter to focus on finding multicultural women candidates: YES

Offers support groups specifically for multicultural women: NO

Offers mentoring programs specifically geared toward multicultural women early in their careers: NO

Offers sponsorship program specifically geared toward multicultural women early in their careers: NO