i4cp Members on 2015 List of Top 50 Companies for Executive Women
i4cp congratulates member companies Abbott, AT&T, IBM, and Prudential Financial for excellence in their diversity and inclusion efforts and being named to the 2015 National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) List of Top Companies for Executive Women.
The application process for the annual list includes more than 200 questions on female representation at all levels, especially the corporate officer and profit-and-loss leadership ranks. The application tracks how many employees have access to programs and policies that promote the advancement of women and how many employees take advantage of them. It also examines how companies train managers to help women advance and how managers are held accountable for the advancement of female employees they oversee.
i4cp's member companies were recognized among the top 50, which NAFE describes as companies that “work hard to nurture corporate cultures that welcome and celebrate women at the executive level” for the following reasons:
Abbott
For the past few years, female employees have been steadily increasing their visibility at this health care company, where they earned 50% of all promotions to the level of manager and above in 2014. They've also continued to make up nearly half of those taking part in the employer's development programs, through which they strengthen their leadership skills and accrue insight into corporate strategy and decision-making. To further enhance their growth, they may access six employee networks, among them the Women Leaders in Action group, which just launched global mentoring circles and offers 130+ annual events.
AT&T
When you work for a communications company as big as this one, getting recognized for your abilities can be easier with a champion in your corner. That's the idea behind its Executive Advocate Program, which annually recruits 60+ senior executives to coach, mentor and voluntarily sponsor female and multicultural vice presidents and general managers, with an eye toward increasing their presence at the executive and officer level. Having inside knowledge of these up-and-comers' talents helps their advocates represent them accurately in succession-planning meetings, ensuring that they are considered for major positions.
IBM
What would you do if you had the playbook for achieving success where you work? That's what this technology company delivered to women here in May 2013 with the debut of Your Journey to Executive, a 15-page report offering insights derived from intensive interviews with 639 female executives worldwide. It emphasizes the need for women to think long-term about careers, seek assignments that bring greater visibility and investigate flex options that help them integrate their personal and professional lives. It's also spawned the two-day Creating Your Leadership Journey workshop, which spurs female managers to identify goals, develop personal brands, build networks, and seek feedback.
Prudential Financial
New succession-planning rules are bound to have an effect on the careers of female and multicultural executives at this financial services firm, which retooled its existing approach in 2014 and now places greater emphasis on identifying and developing diverse candidates for “strategically significant” jobs. Initiatives created by the firm's Women's Advisory Council (a group for employees in the investment management subsidiary) complement this updated framework, featuring mentoring sessions and “strategy for success” luncheons for female managers, directors and vice presidents, plus workshops on executive presence and presentation skills.
