The 2014 Working Mother 100 best companies list is out, and you can expect several self-congratulatory press releases to follow over the next few hours and days. The list itself is in no particular order, but Working Mother does break out a list of the top 10 companies. See if you can spot the familiar faces:
- Abbott
- Deloitte
- Discovery Communications
- Ernst & Young LLP
- General Mills
- IBM
- Prudential Financial
- PwC
- WellStar Health System
- Zoetis
You'll be happy to know KPMG made the bigger 100 list, but so did McGladrey (as well as BDO, Moss Adams, and Grant Thornton) so that isn't saying much.
EY appears to be first out the gate with a masturbatory press release:
Ernst & Young LLP continues its strong track record of inclusion on Working Mother’s annual Working Mother 100 Best Companies list, ranking in the top 10 for the ninth consecutive year and appearing on the list for the 18th time. The firm’s history of providing generous and continuous support for its people with caregiving responsibilities, coupled with its commitment to establishing new offerings, innovations and insights to benefit them, make its flexible and inclusive culture stand out in the market.
“For decades, we have been devoted to building a great people culture,” said Steve Howe, the EY Americas Managing Partner and the Managing Partner of Ernst & Young LLP (US). “We believe this strong record of recognition results from our sustained and expanded focus on diversity and inclusiveness, flexibility for all, open communication and a desire to see our people thrive professionally and personally. Families succeed when teams at work and teams at home make it possible for individuals to reach their full potential.”
Kelly Grier, EY Americas Vice Chair— Talent, tells Working Mother it's actually working all day that keeps her motivated to, er, work all day:
As counterintuitive as it may seem, keeping pace with the demands of my job by staying connected for parts of the day—the early, early morning, the late, late night—actually affords me that focus and the time to be really present and be 100 percent mom or wife. The demands of the job don’t abate because you have a family, so it really is a matter of how you make it all work together.
Not sure "counterintuitive" would be the right word here. Pervasive? Encroaching? All-encompassing?
