Month: January 2024

Whirlpool Corporation’s newest Employee Resource Group (ERG) the Whirlpool Family Network launched last week with a kickoff event featuring local vendors and services, delicious food, and several speakers including WFN Leads Heather Chupp, Robert Pirri, and Michael Farrington, Executive Sponsors Dave Whitehead and Chelsey Whitehead, and Whirlpool Corp. leaders Jim Peters and Kim Kavala.

The Whirlpool Family Network’s mission is to enable Whirlpool Employees who are Parents and Caregivers to win at work and home by advocating for supportive policies, establishing crucial connections, and providing valuable information and resources, to improve the quality of life for both our employees and the precious people they care for.

ABOUT WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION 

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is committed to being the best global kitchen and laundry company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home. In an increasingly digital world, the company is driving purposeful innovation to meet the evolving needs of consumers through its iconic brand portfolio, including Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, JennAir, Indesit, Yummly and InSinkErator. In 2022, the company reported approximately $20 billion in annual sales, 61,000 employees and 56 manufacturing and technology research centers. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com.

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This post was authored by Mary Fernandez, Cisco global lead for disability and neuro-inclusion.

Often when we talk about promoting inclusion of disabled and neurodivergent people in society we exclusively focus on work and education. While equitable access to education and employment are fundamental to participating in society, life isn’t and shouldn’t be just about work.

For example, I’m a newly single blind woman engaged in online dating. As I’m browsing profiles, I want to participate in this amusing, exciting, and sometimes treacherous part of life as fully as anyone else—and that includes wanting to know if my prospective matches’ profile pictures contain any metaphorical red flags. And you may think that because I’m blind, I don’t care about the aesthetics. If so, you would be wrong. For instance, while I appreciate that a shaved head paired with a full luscious beard is the preference for many, it is not the aesthetic for me.

In recognition of International Day for Persons with Disabilities, which is celebrated annually on December 3, I want to offer food for thought as we lean into technological advances. You see, online dating, AI, accessibility and disability are all closely linked, and if done right will lead to innovative applications which may seem unimaginable.

Accessibility Meets AI

Back to online dating. Pictures supposedly convey 1000 words, which is why online dating is so inherently visual. One picture tells us about someone’s spirit so deeply we will know if we want to spend 30- plus years with them. So, my dilemma: how do I participate in this social experiment?

One way for me to do that is to use a mobile app that connects blind and low-vision individuals with sighted volunteers through a live video call. I can open the app and ask a sighted person to describe someone’s profile picture.

While this approach is a great improvement over not having any information, it doesn’t give me freedom to participate autonomously in the rich social tapestry we call life. Plus, do you really want to involve a third party to judge how shallow you are based on your swiping directionality? Neither do I!

So that’s where I got creative and leveraged the biggest technological shift in a generation—artificial intelligence (AI). Through a rather cumbersome, but judgment-free process, I take screenshots, run it through an AI-powered image description app, and voila. Man sitting in car with sunglasses, a baseball hat in the dark? Left please.

Disability: The Great Shared Human Experience

My online dating journey certainly is amusing. However, there are deeper implications. Think about how the world treats and includes—or doesn’t—people with disabilities. Even if you are not disabled today, there will almost certainly come a day when you are. You might spend 6-12 weeks using crutches while the leg you broke skiing heals. Or maybe it’s that you will experience the slow progression of a degenerative condition that unfolds over time.

Short-term or life-long, disability is going to be part of the fabric of your life at some point.

Building a World with Disabled Communities

How we harness the power of AI to design a more equitable world for people with disabilities becomes a question of who is building AI and how they are building it.

In most aspects of society, disabled people have been relegated to the sidelines, and seldom expected to be in or promoted to decision-making roles. The narratives we commonly hear about disability and the disabled experience are often informed by non-disabled people who hold deep bias and fear around this topic.

Let’s try a little thought experiment. Picture a disabled woman in your mind right now.

I’m going to guess that the first image to pop into your mind is probably not that of a vivacious, fashion-forward woman of color strutting with her white cane through the streets of Washington, DC, sporting her favorite burnt orange booties. And you certainly will not picture her online dating profile, because we do not associate disability as part of the human experience, but rather as “other.”

Here’s another experiment. What do you think happens when you ask an AI image-generator to create pictures of disabled people?

As one commentator I recently heard speak said, the answer is, “You get a bunch of sad-looking white guys in wheelchairs.”

That served as a bit of a laugh line in his presentation, but it was uncomfortable laughter, because we know why generative AI engines produce images like that. We get out of AI what we put into it. And right now, a lot of bias and assumptions are integrated into it.

The result is that the AI we’re expecting to enrich all our lives, instead may be a promoter of harmful narratives and stereotypes of marginalized communities.

One of these erroneous narratives is that inclusion of disabled and neurodivergent communities inherently equates to slowing progress and innovation: further, that this inclusion may negatively impact the quality of the result to something “less than.”

In our industry, speed has been regarded as one of the defining factors for success and profitability. Hence, the value of inclusion of marginalized communities is in direct contrast to what is seen as a competitive advantage. The data tells us that this is far from the truth. In fact, inclusion of disabled and other marginalized perspectives, rather than being a hindrance, results in outperforming the competition.

But stories and images are powerful. The narratives we breathe in from the moment we are children are hard to dismantle even when we see the numbers. Data isn’t enough to move the needle. Instead, focusing on proactive learning, engagement with the disability community, promotion of disabled and neurodivergent individuals into decision-making positions, and appreciation for and of the time of disabled people, paired with storytelling is truly what can break the biases built into our neural networks.

Inclusion Powers Innovation

Disabled and neurodivergent people live in a world that is not designed for us. So, we create solutions. In fact, some of your most beloved technological advancements were developed by disabled people when we had to find a solution to further participate in day-to-day life.

Did you know that the keyboard on your desk, the electric toothbrush you are hopefully using, and all dictation features across your devices, along with being able to speak with your home assistants, were all results of innovation driven by the needs of the disability community?

Revolutionary technological advances are meant to break rather than build barriers, build connection rather than disconnection, and increase enjoyment, fun and productivity rather than take them away. And while the creativity and needs of the disabled community have launched innovations that make all our lives easier and richer—audio books, anyone?-—many of the technical advances today are excluding and leaving behind disabled and neurodivergent users, because there is a lack of intentionality in building accessible advances which serve all.

I wonder if in our desire for speed we’ve forgotten that to speed up, to create and innovate, sometimes we must pause and wonder, who else can we serve? Technological advances that last and don’t just become an amusing memory in two to three years are those which serve so many people that we cannot imagine our lives without them. Knowing that disability will impact us all at some point in life, thoughtfulness about designing a more accessible world logically follows as a step to creating those kinds of meaningful advances. This is why inclusive AI is so crucial.

So, let’s flip the narrative. Building inclusive AI isn’t about inhibiting speed. It is about accelerating innovation.

Powering an Inclusive Future for All

Through the tireless work of disabled advocates, the United Nations recognized how deeply disability is intertwined with humanity when it first proclaimed December 3, as International Day of Persons with Disabilities more than 30 years ago.

This year, the theme for IDPWD was “United in action to rescue and achieve the sustainable development goals for, with and by persons with disabilities.”

Celebration is stopping to acknowledge and feel joy and pride in all that we have accomplished. Yes, you may celebrate having to yell at your Alexa today because it didn’t understand what you asked and went off on a tangent. Know that the same home assistant helped someone turn on their oven because we did not build touch screens with motor disabilities in mind.

But celebration is also a commitment to growth, to saying, “Where do we go next and how do we do it better?” Designing with the disability community, prioritizing accessibility from the moment you think of an idea, actively including those of us who interact with the world differently, that’s how we truly celebrate and honor difference.

Artificial intelligence is the biggest development in tech in a generation. It has the power to make our world a more inclusive place. Now is the time for everyone involved in AI to commit to building it for, with, and by persons with disabilities—then maybe someday it will power full inclusion. Plus make it more efficient for me to decide whether to swipe right or left as I seek a life partner.

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At Atlantic City Electric, workforce development is shaping the future of the energy industry through various programs that support the growth of our future energy workforce, while directly impacting the lives of those we serve. As part of that commitment, we joined together with the City of Atlantic City, creating the Atlantic City Infrastructure Program (ACIP), which provides Atlantic City residents a path to energy sector careers and ultimately changes the economic trajectory for these residents and their families. The program focuses on members from the under-resourced population in Atlantic City, enabling participants to gain utility training and work-ready skills and upon successful program completion, graduates are given the opportunity to interview for a role with the company or one of our contractors of choice.

In February 2023, the first cohort of 26 residents graduated from the program and were honored with their families and numerous officials from the region. The second cohort is now underway, and we look forward to seeing how each participant continues growing professionally through the program- and for years to come.

Check out the video below to learn more about the life-changing impacts ACIP is having on Atlantic City residents and the energy industry.

Atlantic City Electric
Atlantic City Electric is a unit of Exelon (Nasdaq: EXC), a Fortune 250 company and the nation’s largest utility company, serving more than 10 million customers. Atlantic City Electric provides clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy service to approximately 565,000 customers in southern New Jersey.

To learn more about Atlantic City Electric, visit The Source, Atlantic City Electric’s online newsroom. Find additional information by visiting atlanticcityelectric.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/AtlanticCityElectric, and on Twitter at twitter.com/AcEleCconnect. Atlantic City Electric’s mobile app is available at atlanticcityelectric.com/MobileApp.

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More than a dozen organizations helping Floridians overcome hunger and financial challenges received donations

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., January 18, 2024 /3BL/ – Duke Energy has awarded $425,000 to more than a dozen Florida organizations that provide food assistance and other community resources to help seniors and families throughout the state.

The funding, provided by the Duke Energy Foundation and Duke Energy Florida, helped wrap up the holiday giving campaigns of many organizations, with many including matching donations by private donors, thus creating an even greater impact for customers and communities.

“Every bit of support to local and statewide food banks and community resources is helpful any time of year but particularly during the holiday season,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. “We are proud to support these incredible organizations and the great work they do throughout the year to keep Floridians and their families fed, healthy and secure.”

This year’s holiday donations are in addition to $100,000 donated previously to Feeding Florida, a statewide organization dedicated to providing healthy, nutritious meals through its network of food banks.

“We are grateful for Duke Energy’s investment in our capacity building, as well as the extra steps they’ve taken to provide healthy food for those who need it most,” said Robin Safley, Feeding Florida executive director. “The refrigeration Duke Energy funded allowed more than 45 local food pantries to store and distribute more nutritious food than ever before, and this most recent gift will fill those coolers with fresh Florida produce. This effort will provide positive health impacts for years to come.”

The funding also allowed the Florida Council on Aging (FCOA) to distribute free holiday gift cards for seniors through various organizations throughout the state.

“The Florida Council on Aging is happy to have a relationship with Duke Energy and its Foundation because they truly share our commitment in giving back to the community,” said Jeff Johnson, FCOA president. “In December, 1,750 seniors in 11 different counties received gift cards to be used at a retail establishment through the generosity of Duke Energy and its Foundation.

“FCOA thanks Duke Energy for their support and the numerous service providers who distributed the gift cards,” said Johnson. “Thank you all for making the holidays brighter for Florida seniors.”

Some of the organizations that received funding include:

Feeding Florida 
 Florida Council on Aging, to be distributed through the following organizations:Seniors First, Orange County 
 Neighborly Care Network, Pinellas County 
 Council on Aging of Volusia County 
 NU-HOPE Elder Care Services 
 CARES, Pasco County 
 Citrus County Support Services 
 Marion Senior Services 
 211 Tampa Bay Cares 
 St. Pete Free Clinic 
 Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida 
 Hope Partnership in Central Florida 
 Community Food Bank in Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties 
 Heartland Food Bank, Highlands County 
 Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida

To learn more about assistance programs, including how to seek utility bill assistance, visit duke-energy.com/HereToHelp or call the Customer Care number listed on your energy bill.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy Foundation

The Duke Energy Foundation provides more than $30 million annually in philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The Foundation is funded by Duke Energy shareholders.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2023 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Audrey Stasko 
Media line: 800.559.3853 
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS

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