Allstate Named One of 2014 'Best Companies for Multicultural Women' by Working Mother

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May 13, 2014, 04:02 ET

NORTHBROOK, Ill., May 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Allstate has been named one of the 2014 "Best Companies for Multicultural Women" by Working Mother magazine—an honor that recognizes the 25 U.S. corporations that create and use best practices in hiring, retaining and promoting women of color.

The Working Mother Research Institute has conducted the study since 2003, evaluating how multicultural women are represented at every level of management and decision making at companies that apply for inclusion on the list.

Allstate logo. (PRNewsFoto/Allstate Insurance Company) (PRNewsFoto/) (PRNewsFoto/)

"Inclusive diversity and creating professional development opportunities for women of color continues to be a core business value for Allstate because it improves our ability to attract, retain and develop the best and brightest of our industry," said Michael Escobar, vice president, chief diversity & organization effectiveness officer for Allstate. "It also improves our ability to understand our customers better and deliver products and services they want."

Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media, says, "The Best Companies for Multicultural Women are leaders in building an inclusive culture so that women of color can thrive and lead. We are proud of the policies and programs these winning companies support. Creating a culture of inclusion and authenticity is essential for all companies that want to have access to the top talent needed to drive their business."

Key findings of the 2014 Working Mother report can be found on workingmother.com.

Here are some highlights:
At the 2014 Best Companies for Multicultural Women, 9% of the executives reporting directly to the CEO are women of color, up from 5% last year. Multicultural women represent 12% of the Best Companies' top earners (defined as those among the top 20% of earners at the company); last year this number was 10%.

Representation of multicultural women at the senior manager level (8%) and corporate executive level (4%) each increased a percentage point in the past year. Multicultural women received 13% of all promotions to manager and above, down from 15% in 2013.

2014's Best Companies employ more than 2.7 million workers with almost 32,000 worksites across 50 states in the following 7 industries: Consumer Products, Financial Services, Hospitality, Insurance, Professional Services, Retail and Technology. Multicultural women make up 20% of total employees at the Best Companies while multicultural men represent 18%.

The Working Mother Best Companies for Multicultural Women application is only available to companies that have at least 500 U.S. employees. The winners were selected based on their answers to an extensive questionnaire covering representation; hiring, attrition, and promotion rates; recruitment, retention, advancement programs; and company culture. The Working Mother Research Institute creates a scoring algorithm based on the previous year's benchmark results to determine the winners.

Working Mother magazine reaches 2.2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers; 42% of our readers are multicultural women. WorkingMother.com (workingmother.com) gives working mothers @home and @work advice, solutions, and ideas. Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation (bonnier.com), includes the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE, nafe.com), Diversity Best Practices (diversitybestpractices.com), and the Working Mother Research Institute. Working Mother Media's mission is to serve as a champion of culture change.

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer, serving approximately 16 million households through its Allstate, Encompass, Esurance and Answer Financial brand names and Allstate Financial business segment. Allstate branded insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services are offered through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives, as well as via www.allstate.com, www.allstate.com/financial and 1-800 Allstate^®, and are widely known through the slogan "You're In Good Hands With Allstate^®." In 2013, $29 million was given by The Allstate Foundation, Allstate, its employees and agency owners to support local communities. Allstate employees and agency owners donated 200,000 hours of service across the country.

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SOURCE Allstate Insurance