Diversity and inclusion are in the spotlight after the U.S. Presidential Election. Around the country, public and private conversations are focusing on how to ensure that people of all races, sexual orientation and gender receive equal protection and respect. Within Corporate America, these conversations are also taking place, with some arguing that U.S. companies may play an outsized role in protecting diversity and inclusion. As one commentator put it: “An overt homophobe can’t be a vice president at Apple or Salesforce.com in 2016.” The same could be said of overt sexists and misogynists.
While we still have a long way to go in achieving gender equality in corporate America, more and more companies are making concerted efforts to work toward this goal. At Fairygodboss, where our chief mission is to improve the workplace for women, we celebrate the top 25 companies for women in 2016 (as voted by their female employees as of this publication date).
The million-dollar question is of course: What makes women at these companies so happy? It’s clear from our research and analysis that certain factors correlate with female job satisfaction. Among them: gender equality in the culture and management teams of an employer; extended maternity and parental leave experiences; as well as cultures that support work-life balance and families. In the end, as a platform for women’s voices, we prefer to let women speak for themselves, because nothing is as valuable as the individual stories and perspectives of these women in the workplace. Here’s what women themselves have to say at the top 25 companies (including links to the companies where you can explore women's testimonials):
- Apple: "I think women and men are treated equally. There are many women in senior roles."
- Accenture: “Women have a voice at Accenture. Women lead at the top.”
- Deloitte: “A positive work/life fit is what Deloitte strives to deliver to all of it's employees - women and men alike.”
- General Electric: “This is a great organization to advance your career, while balancing your responsibilities outside of work.”
- Vanguard Group: “At Vanguard, I love working with smart, driven people who are honestly very kind and friendly. People care about doing the right thing for the company and the clients.”
- Salesforce: “Excellent maternity leave; managers helpful to parents' schedules. As a woman, tell them what you want and most likely they will make it happen. “
- PwC: “No company is perfect, but this is the first I've seen that is proactive about bringing diversity and inclusion front and center. I'm continuously impressed by measures leadership takes to drive conversations and impact."
- Thomson Reuters: “I enjoy working here because work-life balance has been made a priority."
- Cisco Systems: “Great culture of flexibility and use of technology. Diverse executive leadership team."
- Google: “Generous leave, managers tend to be very accommodating of work life balance.”
- Microsoft: “Great place to work. Flexibility and great culture. Women treated the same as men.”
- Bloomberg: “I've worked here for over five years and my experiences are positive. I have found that men and women are treated equally - work hard, and you'll be rewarded.”
- McKinsey & Company: “Great place that is focusing a lot of efforts around women.”
- EY: "Good place for women. Flexible work arrangements and good paid maternity leave.”
- J.P. Morgan Chase & Co: “If you work hard, you get rewarded. I've seen a lot of women in hiring executive positions and when I've asked about how they got there they said their hard work was noticed.”
- KPMG: “The firm has many resources available to assist women in balancing family life, as well as networking with other women in similar situations.”
- The Home Depot: “Equal opportunities for men and women; perform well and new opportunities come your way.”
- Wells Fargo: “In my year here, I've met many women in leadership roles, and they are all there due to their own personal merit. I've received coaching and support about my own growth, and have had tremendous opportunity to advance in the company. This is a wonderful place for anyone, both women and men, to work."
- Target Corporation: “This is a great place for working mothers and advancement opportunities.”
- Dow Jones: “I have enjoyed the environment here and there are many opportunities for growth.”
- Intel Corporation: “Great employer. Very diversity focused and supportive of women careers.”
- IBM: “Great place to work for an engineer. I highly recommend IBM to other women.”
- The Coca-Cola Company: “Wonderful people; strong supportive leaders; challenging work; strong ethics and fairness.”
- HP Inc: “I've worked here for 21 years and there are many women in upper management positions. My experience is they are fair and encourage advancement. I'm happy and proud to say I work at HP.”
- Oracle Corporation: “I've been with Oracle for almost two years and there are a lot of strong, competent women working here in every type of role and at all levels. I believe that women are treated fairly and have opportunity for growth and advancement.”
Our methodology for compiling the list is not editorial in the sense that only women’s input was used as the basis for the company rankings. Women in the Fairygodboss community rate their employers on measures such as whether they believe their employer treats men and women equally and fairly, whether they would recommend their employer to other women, and their overall job satisfaction levels. For more detail about our methodology, please visit our company rankings for women.
