Working Mother Reveals "100 Best Companies of 2014" Honoring Leaders In Setting Standard For Work Life Practices

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Working Mother magazine today named the "Working Mother 100 Best Companies of 2014" to honor the companies who have set the standard for work life practices in the U.S., according to a new report in the October/November issue of the magazine and on workingmother.com.

In honor of the Working Mother 100 Best Companies, Working Mother has also declared Tuesday, October 21st, to be National Flex Day to celebrate the power of flex and advocate its use by all employees. This annual celebration, part of National Work and Family Month, is designed to encourage employers and employees to unite behind the need for more flexibility by sharing how pervasive and powerful it already is.

The Working Mother 100 Best report shows that 23% of corporate executive hires went to women this year, up from 19% in 2013, and more women were promoted into senior manager ranks (40%, up from 36% last year). The number of Best Companies offering sponsorship to employees continues to grow, hitting 62% in 2014.  At the Best Companies, men and women use flex time (77% women vs. 74% men) and telecommuting (54% vs. 52%).

The Top Ten Companies for 2014 are: Abbott, Deloitte, Discovery Communications, Ernst & Young LLP, General Mills, IBM, Prudential Financial, PwC, WellStar Health System and Zoetis. The full list of the 100 Best Companies can be found here.

"Now in its 29^th year, the Working Mother 100 Best Companies represents the model companies who have led in the areas of benefits, child care, flexible work arrangements and parental leave," says Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media. "These companies recognize that helping employees integrate home and work leads to a more successful business and culture."

Jennifer Owens, editorial director of Working Mother Media, says, "We have created National Flex Day to promote the power of workplace flex. On October 21^st, we encourage our Working Mother 100 Best Companies and all employers to promote how they support flexibility — the number one benefit that working parents want from their employers. In honor of National Flex Day, Working Mother encourages employers and employees to use #flexday to share their stories with us on social media."                                                                        

About Working Mother Media
Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation (bonnier.com), is the publisher of Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com, and the Working Mother Research Institute. The National Association for Female Executives (nafe.com), Diversity Best Practices (diversitybestpractices.com) are also units within WMM. Working Mother Media's mission is to serve as a champion of culture change. Working Mother magazine is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

SOURCE Working Mother Media