COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American
Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) received a perfect score on the 2017
Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmark of workplace
policies, benefits and practices for members of the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities sponsored by the Human
Rights Campaign Foundation. AEP's score ranks the company among the
2017 Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality list.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which rated a total of
1,043 businesses this year, released its 2017 report today. The
report evaluates non-discrimination workplace protections, domestic
partner benefits, transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits,
competency programs, and public engagement with the LGBT community
based on information provided through surveys completed by the
companies and/or through public sources. This is the first year the
foundation awarded a perfect score to AEP.
"AEP actively cultivates a diverse workforce, which allows us to
leverage the unique talents and experiences of each of our
employees to solve challenges, spur innovation and help our
business thrive," said Nicholas K.
Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"Being recognized as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBT
Equality affirms the values of diversity and inclusion that we work
hard to support, and we accept this honor on behalf of our
employees, our customers and our communities who have worked with
AEP to bring those values to life."
AEP's perfect score was supported by its strong commitment to
supporting diversity in the workplace. In addition to extending
benefits for same-sex couples and their dependents for nearly a
decade, AEP offers coverage of transition-related care, based on
medical necessity, to individuals who identify as transgender. AEP
also provides families with adoption assistance, reimbursing
employees up to $3,000 per child for
eligible adoption-related expenses and providing up to 40 hours of
paid leave for new adoptive parents. The company has a strong and
active employee resource group, the Pride Partnership, which
facilitates networking and mentoring of LGBT employees, contractors
and their allies. Numbering over 460, the Pride Partnership's
members also serve as ambassadors to local LGBT organizations,
reinforcing AEP's leadership in the community at large.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities
in the United States, delivering
electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million
customers in 11 states. AEP owns the nation's largest electricity
transmission system, a more than 40,000-mile network that includes
more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all
other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP also operates 224,000
miles of distribution lines. AEP ranks among the nation's largest
generators of electricity, owning approximately 31,000 megawatts of
generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also supplies 3,200 megawatts
of renewable energy to customers. AEP's utility units operate as
AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West
Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky
Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power
Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
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SOURCE American Electric Power