Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
PGE provides an essential product. Since our earliest days, our goal has been to contribute to the people, cultures and communities we serve – all while continuing to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy.
PGE provides an essential product. Since our earliest days, our goal has been to contribute to the people, cultures and communities we serve – all while continuing to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy.
From our employees to our customers, we have the responsibility to bring everyone forward into the clean energy future. This means reflecting, integrating, and supporting the diverse voices represented in the communities we serve. As one of the region’s largest and most trusted companies, we can and must join with our communities to help drive real and lasting change.
Our DEI Office, established in 2018, seeks to move DEI work from a mandate to a movement. In 2020, through a series of racial equity listening sessions designed to give PGE employees the opportunity to share ideas, we identified five commitment areas that will drive us forward in our journey toward racial equity. These five areas encompass both our internal diversity and inclusion efforts, as well as our external partner engagement to create a more equitable energy system.
Learn more about our progress in these five commitments areas:
Recruitment & Development
In 2020, we added criteria for racial and gender diversity to our interview panels. Starting in the third quarter of 2020, 100% of our interview processes had at least one diverse representative.
We recently launched two development programs to foster career advancement for women and BIPOC employees.
We’ve revised the hiring process for our pre-apprentice lineman program to attract and train a diverse pool of applicants.
We perform annual pay equity studies to ensure pay decisions are applied fairly and consistently throughout our workforce.
Leadership Diversity
Each time a leadership role is available, we cast a wide net to encourage diverse representation.
In 2020, we defined DEI incentive metrics for officers and other company leaders, tying compensation to progress on DEI goals.
In the past two years, about 50% of officer promotions and director selections were diverse.
Awareness, Education & Training
We provide racial equity education for our board, leadership and employees. Examples include sessions on unconscious bias, inclusive leadership and applying an equity lens.
We require training for managers to help reveal hidden biases that can affect hiring, promotions and evaluations.
Our eight identity-based Business Resource Groups regularly host events, open to all employees, that promote cultural awareness and employee development.
Partners & Suppliers
We’ll increase our supplier diversity spending to 15% of our total supplier spending by 2022 (with a goal to reach 10% by the end of 2021).
As of year-end 2020, our supplier diversity program accounts for 11.8% ($100 million+) of our total supplier spending.
Customer & Community Engagement
Together, PGE, our employees, our retirees and the PGE Foundation donated $5.6 million to community nonprofits in 2020. 50% of PGE Foundation grant dollars supported communities of color.
Our flagship community engagement program, PGE Project Zero, engages underserved youth in creating greener and more equitable communities through climate education, environmental stewardship projects and green job development.
Our Drive Change Fund awarded local community organizations $2.25 million to expand access to electric transportation. We also provided funding to electrify buses in five school districts.
In 2020, we launched the Language Line to help take customer calls in more than 200 languages.
We have embedded community outreach managers into PGE Smart Grid Test Bed neighborhoods to help underrepresented populations use demand response programs to their benefit.
Our 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report 
provides additional details about our DEI commitments and progress, including detailed workforce demographic data.
At Portland General, a diverse workforce is important to us. Learn more about how we support our employees and search for jobs on our Careers page.
The Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to disclosing their efforts to support gender equality through policy development, representation and transparency.
For the eighth year in a row, we achieved a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index 
, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workplace equality.
Employee Groups
These groups mentor and support members’ professional goals and all employees are welcome to participate. They host events that promote cultural awareness and employee development. Our current list of groups includes:
Advocates & Champions for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
African American
Asian Pacific Island Cultures
ABLE Disabilities BRG
LGBT+
Latin American
Native American
Military Veterans
Women’s