Economists can show how buyers benefit when there is a broader pool of sellers competing with each other. This is true whether a buyer is a family looking for a restaurant meal or a utility seeking a new hire or a contractor. In the following nine conversations with utility execs and regulators and others in our industry, we heard again and again how diversity spend and diversity in the workplace increases competition and rewards companies and their consumers. Check out what leaders at Duke Energy, Exelon/BGE, Sempra/SDG&E, etc. told us about why they drive diversity: