Working Mother names Lilly to its 100 Best Companies list for 20 years

Company announces a series of digital and employee initiatives honoring women

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Sep 16, 2014, 09:30 ET

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Working Mother magazine has named Eli Lilly and Company as one of its Working Mother 100 Best Companies 20 years in a row. In observance of the honor, Lilly is planning a series of digital and employee initiatives.

Working Mother annually honors companies for outstanding leadership in establishing policies, programs and a corporate culture that supports working mothers, including child care, flexible work arrangements, paid parental leave and advancement of women.

"The Working Mother 100 Best Companies are the leaders in the advancement of women by supporting their need to integrate family and work successfully. We are thrilled to honor the U.S. companies that put words into action and build family-friendly cultures on the foundation of thoughtful policies and effective programs. Women now make up 50% of our workforce. We need to make sure they have the support to be outstanding moms as well as great employees," said Carol Evans, president, Working Mother Media.

Online campaign launches today
Lilly's Chief Diversity Officer Monique Hunt McWilliams, who is a working mother of two, said that the achievement is a great time to put the spotlight on the contributions of women in the workplace and the programs that support them as part of an extensive Women@Lilly campaign.

The online portion of the campaign, available at https://lillypad.lilly.com/lillywomen, will include blogs, infographics, videos and other materials featuring Lilly women from all over the world. The emphasis will be on how they attempt to find balance between their work and home lives. In the months to come, the site will spotlight the history of working women, celebrate the many accomplishments of Lilly women, and observe the 20^th anniversary of the Lilly Women's Network. The employee resource group has chapters in Asia, Canada, South and Central America and all over the United States.

"A lot has changed in the last 20 years, but Lilly's support of its female employees is a constant," said McWilliams. "We have remarkable women in this company, and we provide programs that help them excel. Some lead business units, while others are running our affiliates. Many are scientists and are making great strides in advancing medicine. Others are active in their communities and making a real difference for charitable organizations. We want to take this time to celebrate their accomplishments and say thank you."

Women@Lilly Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Lilly's commitment to advancing women in the workplace and providing an environment, including policies, where women can thrive is long standing.

Founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, the first three employees included bottler and finisher Caroline Kruger. By 1913, there were eight female supervisors, called foreladies, supervising all women production lines. In 1916, "A Report on the Subject of Employment" was written by J.K. Lilly Jr. to ensure fair, equitable treatment for all employees.

One of the first women hired into a prominent scientific role at Lilly was Dr. Mary Root, who started in 1950 as a senior pharmacologist. A diabetes researcher, she contributed to a medication that Lilly marketed for decades and also chaired a research committee.

Today, McWilliams said the importance of women at Lilly is even more apparent, with several women, including working mothers, holding top leadership positions in the company and on the company's board of directors. At the highest levels, they include:

Four women on our board of directors, which at about 29 percent, is better than many Fortune 500 companies. In fact, Lilly has been selected as a 2020 Women on Boards Winning Company for its commitment to diversity on the board. http://www.lilly.com/about/board-of-directors/Pages/board-of-directors.aspx
Four women on our executive committee http://www.lilly.com/about/executives/Pages/executives.aspx

Every Woman Has a Story
There are a number of remarkable women at all levels of Lilly. Below are a couple of their stories.

Tuong-Vi Donoho, featured Working Mother of the Year: Maintaining a thriving career and active family life is a balancing act, but Tuong-Vi Donoho, who works in research IT, has developed a formula for doing both successfully.

What's her secret for making it all work? Being okay with sometimes saying "no," that some nights, dinner isn't a home-cooked meal, and not feeling guilty about taking time to re-charge.

"As a working mom, I feel like I exceed my capacity at times and I still struggle with balance. But my husband is supportive and that makes all the difference."

Laura Swint, former Lilly Working Mother of the Year: When asked to describe her philosophy, Laura Swint captures it in a few words: Be a fountain, not a drain.

That is how she lives her life as a busy mother of three children, dedicated community volunteer – and a district sales manager who supervises, coaches and develops a team of sales professionals. And, in addition to all those tasks, she finds time to serve on an executive committee for the Lilly employee resource group for women sales professionals.

How does she do it all? She gets her priorities in order.

Family comes first for Laura, who knows if things are good at home, then she can be her most productive at work. "It's not always easy," Laura stressed. "You have to make the best of every situation. Dinner in the car is a picnic."

And, yes, you need to take it one day at a time and carry a very large purse. "I could run a country from this purse," she said, laughing, as she pulls out snacks, toys, bandages and lip gloss.

More information about the women of Lilly is available at https://lillypad.lilly.com/lillywomen. Information about our programs is available in the Workplace section of our Corporate Responsibility report http://www.lilly.com/Documents/Lilly_2012_2013_CRreport.pdf.

About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels. C-LLY

Refer to: (317) 612-4974 (mobile) - Janice Chavers, [email protected]

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SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company