Great Place to Work® and FORTUNE Name Edward Jones One of the Best Workplaces for Women

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Sep 15, 2017, 09:11 ET

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Edward Jones was named to the top five workplaces for women – highest in the financial-services industry – by the Great Place to Work and FORTUNE magazine. Edward Jones came in at No. 3 on the Best Workplaces for Women list of 100 companies.

The list considered more than 400,000 anonymous employee surveys from hundreds of businesses in all sectors of the economy. The ranking gauged women's assessment of their organizations' culture, leadership, fairness and other elements essential for a great workplace.

"As a growing firm, we offer talented women a variety of career paths to leadership," says Edward Jones Managing Partner Jim Weddle. "We are a family-friendly workplace offering generous leave for caregivers and flexible work arrangements, and we have a new initiative offering extra support to attract, develop and retain women financial advisors. Women are key to our firm's long-term success at building relationships with our clients."

Weddle was one of 150 CEOs to sign the "CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion" pledge, a new nationwide initiative to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace as a means to improve corporate performance, drive growth and enhance employee engagement.

Edward Jones recently launched a firm-wide network for female financial advisors – new and veteran – in a pledge to bring more women to the financial advisor role. The network, called WINGS -- or Women's Initiative for New Growth Strategies—offers tools, mentorship resources and coaching designed to strengthen and advance female career trajectories at the firm.

"At Edward Jones, more than one-quarter of our recruits are women – but the number should be higher," said Monica Giuseffi, Principal of Financial Advisor Inclusion and Diversity at Edward Jones. "As the dynamics of our workforce and the clients we serve continue to evolve, we must embrace diversity of thought, background and experience across our firm. We are actively working to increase client impact by attracting, retaining and developing talented individuals from various backgrounds, with different life skills to most effectively address their needs."

Research from Great Place to Work has shown that women are five times more likely to plan a long-term future with their employers when they say they're treated as full members of the team, regardless of position. The Best Workplaces for Women also set themselves apart from competitors in other important ways: 95 percent of women at these organizations describe them as friendly, and the same share say they're proud to tell others where they work.

"The Best Workplaces for Women deserve recognition for crafting environments where men and women alike can bring their best selves to work each day," said Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work.

The ranking assessed companies on a variety of measures, including:

Key metrics for a great workplace. Great Place to Work analyzed how women rated their organizations in more than 50 areas, including respect, fairness, management and camaraderie.
Gender comparison. The ranking considered women's survey results compared to their colleagues' to ensure women had as positive an experience as men. This took into account an index of factors where women often lag behind their peers, such as access to meaningful work, fair pay and plans for a future with their organizations.
Consistent experiences in a diverse group. Great Place to Work also analyzed demographic patterns to ensure companies created great workplaces for all women, regardless of who they are or what jobs they do.

The Best Workplaces for Women is one of a series of rankings by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE based on employee feedback from Great Place to Work-Certified™ organizations. Edward also was ranked as a Best Workplace for parents, millennials, Gen Xers, those close to retirement, giving back camaraderie and flexibility by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE.

Edward Jones, ranked No. 5 on the FORTUNE Best Companies list overall, has been named one of the country's Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance, ranking as the No. 4 large company. It was also the top-ranked full-service financial firm among all 40 companies on that list.

About Edward Jones
Edward Jones, a FORTUNE 500 firm, provides financial services for individual investors in the United States and, through its affiliate, in Canada. Every aspect of the firm's business, from the types of investment options offered to the location of branch offices, is designed to cater to individual investors in the communities in which they live and work. The firm's 14,000-plus financial advisors work directly with more than 7 million clients. The Edward Jones Web site is located at www.edwardjones.com, and its recruiting Web site is www.careers.edwardjones.com. Member SIPC.

About Great Place to Work
Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through its certification programs, Great Place to Work recognizes outstanding workplace cultures and produces the annual FORTUNE "100 Best Companies to Work For®" and Great Place to Work Best Workplaces lists for Millennials, women, diversity, small & medium companies, industries and, internationally, countries and regions. Through its culture consulting services, Great Place to Work helps its clients create great workplaces that outpace peers on key business metrics like revenue growth, profitability, retention and stock performance.

SOURCE Edward Jones