Washington, D.C.  --  Duke Energy will be recognized for exemplary commitment to women and minorities by Business Women’s Network (BWN) and Diversity Best Practices (DBP), two Washington-based organizations that provide professional resources and benchmarking services for women and minorities.

William A. Coley, group president for Duke Energy's business unit Duke Power, will accept the Corporate Leadership Award for Diversity in a ceremony that is part of the Women and Diversity Leadership Summit & Gala sponsored by BWN and DBP on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002.

The award recognizes organizations for making diversity central to their mission, work force and markets. “Duke Energy has exemplified a strong and integrated commitment to diversity through such initiatives as its supplier diversity program which builds lasting commercial relationships with businesses owned by minorities, women and service-disabled veterans,” said Edie Fraser, president and chief executive officer of DBP and BWN. “By recognizing the importance of inclusion to business success, Duke Energy stands at the forefront of diversity leadership.”

Fraser said Duke Energy is also being honored for its commitment to work force diversity, “creating truly progressive diversity initiatives in all areas and functions of the business,” and “championing diversity leadership in all levels of the organization.”

“Duke Energy is committed to identifying and keeping the best and brightest talent in the marketplace – and therefore the company is committed to diversity, which its leadership views as an absolute bottom-line issue,” said Richard B.Priory, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy. “We know that to win in our competitive field, we have to win the talent war, so we strive everyday to attract, retain and develop diverse competencies and leadership abilities at every level.”

Duke Energy was also cited for its “expansion of diversity as a business imperative.” The company has established an enterprisewide framework for diversity that is monitored and overseen at a leadership level by the company’s office of diversity, ethics and compliance.

“Our diversity framework is tied directly to our business strategy,” said Richard “Stick” Williams, Duke Energy’s vice president for diversity, ethics and compliance. Williams is a 25-year veteran of Duke Energy and a former CPA with experience in almost every area of the company including internal audit, corporate finance, investor relations, customer relations and customer operations.

“Business unit executives are responsible for establishing goals and objectives, determining accountability, setting measurements and developing a reward system to support Duke Energy’s global diversity effort,” Williams explained. “The goal is for each business unit to create its own diversity business case that is relevant to achieving business objectives.”

Other companies receiving the Corporate Leadership Award for Diversity include Abbott Laboratories, BellSouth, The Calvert Group, IBM, Chase Home Finance, Motorola, Shell Oil Company, The Coca-Cola Company and Verizon Communications.

Duke Energy is a diversified multinational energy company with an integrated network of energy assets and expertise. The company manages a dynamic portfolio of natural gas and electric supply, delivery and trading businesses – meeting the energy needs of customers throughout North America and in key markets around the world. Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a Fortune 100 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com.

About BWN and DBP: The Business Women's Network (BWN) and Diversity Best Practices (DBP) are Washington-based organizations providing resources, publications, and benchmarking services for women and minorities in business of all size and sector. BWN is an information network for millions of professional women around the globe, from first-time entrepreneurs to board members of Fortune 500 companies. DBP is a leading management resource service that assists diversity leaders and professionals in the development of their fully integrated diversity programs. Both are owned by iVillage, the premier women's media company. iVillage.com is the most visited women's Web site with 16 million monthly visitors.