For Eighth Consecutive Year, Verizon Named to LATINA Style Magazine's List of Best Companies for Latinas to Work For

NEW YORK, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon has earned the No. 4 ranking in the Latina Style 50, LATINA Style magazine's annual list of the best companies for Latinas to work for in the U.S. This is the eighth consecutive year that the company's commitment to diversity and inclusion has been recognized by the publication.

Verizon has ranked among the top companies on the list for the last seven consecutive years. Women and people of color make up nearly 60 percent of Verizon's workforce, and women hold 29 percent of the senior management positions.

"In today's increasingly global and competitive environment an inclusive corporate culture is essential to providing the products and services your customers want, when and how they want it," said Magda Yrizarry, Verizon's chief diversity officer and vice president for talent management. "At Verizon, our goal is to maximize opportunities for our customers, employees, suppliers and the communities we serve. We're honored to once again have that commitment recognized by LATINA Style magazine."  

To compile the list of best companies, LATINA Style surveyed more than 800 companies and evaluated them based on workplace issues that the publication's readers identified as most important. Among the issues were: number of Latina executives, mentoring programs, Latina board members, educational opportunities, alternative work policies, dependent and child care support, employee benefits, women's issues, job retraining and affinity groups.

Verizon's work-family policies are designed to give tools to employees to help them manage their lives. For example, the company's employee assistance program provides resources for dealing with personal and family issues, including parenting and child care, adult care, and health and wellness.  

All employees are eligible to receive discounts on child care at more than 2,000 centers nationwide. The discounted services are available for full-day, part-day, summer, and before- and after-school care. And to address the special needs of many new parents, Verizon provides a generous Gradual Return to Work Program for employees returning from childbirth or child adoption leaves. Eligible employees return to work on a reduced work schedule and maintain full coverage for all Verizon benefits.

The Verizon Foundation, the company's philanthropic arm, has over the last three years contributed more than $38 million to nonprofits and charitable programs serving the Hispanic community.

A Great Place to Build a Career

Earlier this year, Verizon was named one of the top five companies on Working Mother magazine's list of Best Companies for Multicultural Women, the fourth consecutive year Verizon has made this list.

Also this year, the National Association of Female Executives named Verizon to the association's list of 2010 NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women, which spotlights corporations with practices and employment records that benefit women and encourage their advancement to top management positions. And for the fifth consecutive year, the Women's Business Enterprise National Council named Verizon to the council's annual list of America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprise.

In 2009, Verizon invested $330 million in training and development, including $120 million in tuition assistance. The company's commitment to training and investing in the education and professional development of its employees again placed Verizon on Training Magazine's Training Top 125 list of best employee training programs.   

Verizon has also consistently been named to DiversityInc magazine's list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity, earning the No. 1 ranking in 2006 and 2008.

For more information about Verizon's commitment to diversity, visit the company's press kit on diversity at http://newscenter.verizon.com/kit/diversity/. 

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 92 million customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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SOURCE Verizon