Verizon Again Named to Working Mother Magazine List of Best Companies for Multicultural Women

NEW YORK, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon has been ranked No. 10 on Working Mother magazine's 2012 list of Best Companies for Multicultural Women. This is the seventh consecutive year Verizon has earned placement on the list, which this year recognizes 25 companies dedicated to promoting advancement of multicultural women within their organizations. Last year, Verizon ranked No. 11.

Overall, women make up more than 40 percent of Verizon's U.S. workforce and 29 percent of senior management (vice president and above). Multicultural women make up 18 percent of Verizon's U.S.-based workforce, and in 2010 constituted 21 percent of all new hires.

Verizon has several leadership development programs to help retain and advance multicultural talent throughout the corporation. For example, the Diversity Leadership Institute, a multicultural diversity and leadership symposium for high-potential talent, has been proven to help retain participants more effectively, compared with their nonparticipating peers. Last year, this program was expanded to have a more global focus and was renamed the Global Leadership Institute.

Two other programs, My Backfill and Insights for Success, specifically focus on the development and advancement of multicultural women by identifying, tracking and promoting high-potential managers.

Another program, REALIZE, focuses on both men and women. Forty-two percent of the program's participants who gained director-level promotions were women and 18 percent were women of color.

"Verizon is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where we celebrate what is unique and common among employees so that each person is free to unleash his or her authentic perspectives," said Magda Yrizarry, Verizon's chief talent and diversity officer. "It is this diversity of people and ideas that helps drive relevant customer solutions, innovation and our success. We are honored to have Working Mother magazine recognize this commitment for the seventh consecutive year."

To be considered for the list of Best Companies for Multicultural Women, each company provided Working Mother with 2010 data about the hiring, pay and promotion of multicultural employees as well as benefits and programs targeted at that specific demographic.

The recognition from Working Mother is the latest in a number of awards and recognitions Verizon has received this year for its efforts to create an inclusive and effective workforce.

The National Association of Female Executives named Verizon to its NAFE Top 50 Companies and 10 Nonprofits for Executive Women list. Training Magazine ranked Verizon No. 1 on the publication's Top 125 list of the companies with the best training programs for its employees. DiversityInc named Verizon to the magazine's list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity. And most recently, Verizon's military recruiting efforts were recognized by Military Times EDGE and CivillianJobs.com.

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 consumer, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 93 million retail customers nationwide.  Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500.  A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 192,000.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news.  To receive news releases by email, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon