Working Mother – 100 Best Companies to Work For

Working Mother just released it’s 2010 list of America’s 100 best companies for work-life balance.

For 25 years, Working Mother has ranked America’s companies for their family-friendliness and the benefits they provide for working mothers including schedule flexibility, telecommuting and temporary part-time work options, and programs to help women achieve greater work-life balance.

While this list acknowledges the best companies for working moms, all employees benefit from the way these companies approach their employee’s work life.

I was amazed to read that the 100 Best Companies application process included more than 600 questions on workforce representation, child care, flexibility programs, leave policies and more. It surveyed the usage, availability and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers.

According to the Working Mother website, eight key areas were scored: workforce profile; benefits; women’s issues and advancement; child care; flexible work; paid time off and leaves; company culture; and work-life programs.

Then Working Mother’s staffers created a scoring algorithm based on the previous year’s benchmark results, which determined the winners. For this year’s list, they gave particular weight to child care, flexibility and paid time off and leaves.