2012 Working Mother 100 Best Companies Named

Working Mother today named the 2012 Working Mother 100 Best Companies and the Top 10 of the year. The companies are recognized in the October/November issue of the magazine, on workingmother.com and will be honored at the Work Life Congress, to be held in NYC on October 10th.

Working Mother rewarded companies for their wide array of progressive workplace programs, including child care, flexibility, advancement and paid family leave. This is the 27th year Working Mother has recognized organizations for their initiatives.

The Top 10 companies for 2012 are: Bank of America, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, General Mills, Grant Thornton, IBM, KPMG, Procter & Gamble, PwC, and WellStar.

Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media, says, "This year's 100 Best Companies are leading the way for the rest of the nation. They have created not only essential benefits, like flexible work options and telecommuting, but have also shown their commitment in new ways like elder care referral and legal assistance to help busy parents manage their personal lives as well as their careers."

Jennifer Owens, editorial director of Working Mother Media, states, "These 100 Best Companies know what it takes to keep all employees, but especially their employee moms, productive and engaged at work. As the stress surrounding work-life integration continues to rise, so does the opportunity for creating a win-win environment for employees and employers. The Working Mother 100 Best Companies see the payoff from their programs and policies and are outstanding examples for companies to emulate."

Representation of Women

Women made up 51% of all Best Companies employees – or 1.3 million last year and earned 48% of all promotions to manager as well, according to Working Mother.   "Female representation still shrinks the higher up the ladder the higher we go – but for the first time in years, there are two important improvements: Women now account for 43% of all managers at the Best Companies, up from 40%. And women now represent 23% of all corporate executives, up one point from last year," says Evans.

Maternity Leave

Not only do the Best Companies all offer paid maternity leave (versus 16% of the nation's employers), but they offer an average of seven fully paid weeks to employees who have worked at least a year, according to Owens. For dads, there is also paid paternity leave, at an average of three weeks paid – at 78% of Best Companies; and for adoptive parents, the average is six weeks of paid leave (up from 5 last year) – at 81% of Best Companies.

Backup Child Care

This is a number that continues to rise among the 100 Best Companies. This year, 86% of the 100 Best winners offered back-up child care, while 93% offer child care resource and referral services.

Methodology

The 2012 Working Mother 100 Best Companies application includes more than 500 questions on workforce representation, child care, flexibility programs, leave policies and more. It surveys the availability, usage and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them. This year, particular weight was given to child care, flexible scheduling options and advancement programs.

Source: Working Mother Media