In a recent press release, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) named its Top 70 Companies and 10 Nonprofits for Executive Women. “While there are still too few women at the top of our nation’s corporations, NAFE is proud to spotlight trailblazing companies that prepare, promote and push women to executive levels,” the release said.
The top 10 companies for 2019 were:
- Eli Lilly and Company
- Ernst & Young LLP
- FleishmanHillard
- IBM
- JLL
- Johnson & Johnson
- L’OrealUSA
- Marriott International
- Procter & Gamble
- Unilever USA
In addition to the rankings themselves, the report listed some findings about the top 70 companies:
- “Female representation among CEOs at the NAFE Top 70 companies increased 5 percentage points to 19 percent this year, outpacing the S&P 500 at 5 percent.”
- “The percentage of women on the boards of directors at the NAFE Top 70 companies increased two points to 32 percent, up from 30 percent in 2018. S&P 500 held steady year over year at 21 percent.”
- “Female executives responsible for divisions worth more than $1 billion increased from 21 percent to 26 percent in the past year.”
We’d like to highlight two key benefits of being included in this group:
Great Recruiting Tool
For one, being on the NAFE list gives these companies the potential to attract other top female talent. High-quality female applicants will feel they’ll have a better chance of moving up the corporate ladder in an organization already recognized for having women in prominent positions.
General D&I Benefits
Second, these companies gain from the general benefits of diversity and inclusion (D&I) that apply to any business: greater creativity and better problem solving, greater collaboration, and better understanding of increasingly diverse markets.
While women represent over 50% of the population, they still are vastly underrepresented in executive and corporate board positions, especially in certain industries like tech and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Highlighting the progress of companies toward greater female leadership inclusion, such as in the NAFE study, is a great way to encourage other companies to do more.