ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NEW JERSEY (March 5, 2019) — Unilever was named one of the Top Companies for Executive Women by the National Association for Female Executives today. NAFE and Working Mother continue to explore what keeps women from top-level roles while highlighting the successes at trailblazing companies.
This list recognizes U.S. corporations that demonstrate effectiveness in moving women to senior ranks, with best practices including mentoring, sponsorship, involvement in business resource groups and leadership-development training. The list also highlights company benefits, including flexibility, corporate culture, and CEO involvement in advancing women. The NAFE Top 70 Companies, released today, is featured in the April/May issue of Working Mother. The full report on this year’s winners is listed .
“Cultivating an environment where all individuals can thrive and develop their careers is a priority for Unilever,” said Amanda Sourry, president of Unilever North America. “Being named a top company for executive women is a testament to the progress we have made and serves as further motivation toward the work still to be done.”
Unilever North America is gender balanced at the manager level and above, which is a result of many of the benefits provided to Unilever employees that help keep women in the workforce. Upskilling resources, mentorship programs, business resource groups, and development opportunities are available to employees looking to grow their careers. Unilever also offers benefits for working parents, including extended paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers, fertility support, adoption assistance, state-of-the-art mothers’ rooms, free milk shipments for nursing mothers, and back-up childcare options. Unilever’s agile work environment encourages flexible schedules, remote work, and job shares.
“The 2019 NAFE Top Companies continue to tell a progressive story about what organizations are doing to move women up into executive positions,” says Subha V. Barry, president of Working Mother Media. “While the results are encouraging, there is still much work to do. There are still too few women serving as CEOs, managing large asset portfolios, and seated on boards of directors, but the NAFE Top Companies are paving the way for the advancement of women."
The benefits provided to working parents are part of a larger picture of Unilever’s commitment to health and well-being for employees and consumers alike. The impactful strategy, referred to as the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, sets out to decouple the company’s growth from its environmental footprint while increasing positive social impact.
You can find more information on life at Unilever here.
Methodology: The 2019 NAFE Top 70 Companies application includes more than 200 questions on topics including female representation at all levels, but especially the corporate officer and profit-and-loss leadership ranks. The application tracks and examines how many employees have access to programs and policies that promote advancement of women and how many employees take advantage of them, plus how companies train managers to help women advance. To be considered, companies must have a minimum of two women on their boards of directors, a U.S.-based CEO, and at least 1,000 U.S. employees.
About Unilever United States, Inc.
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day.
In the United States, the portfolio includes brand icons such as Axe, Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Caress, Degree, Dollar Shave Club, Dove, Good Humor, Hellmann’s, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Love Beauty and Planet, Magnum, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond’s, Popsicle, Pure Leaf, Q-tips, Schmidt’s Naturals, Seventh Generation, Simple, Sir Kensington’s, St. Ives, Suave, Sundial Brands, Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, TAZO, TIGI, TONI&GUY, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) underpins the company’s strategy and commits to:
- Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.
- Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
The USLP creates value by driving growth and trust, eliminating costs and reducing risks. Globally, the company’s sustainable living brands grew 46% faster than the rest of the business and delivered more than 70% of the company’s growth in 2017.
For more information on Unilever U.S., its brands, and the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan visit unileverusa.com
ABOUT NAFE
The National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), founded in 1972, serves members with networking, tools, and solutions to strengthen and grow their careers and businesses. Working Mother magazine publishes the annual NAFE Top Companies list. NAFE.com provides up-to-date information, a community for women in business, and access to member benefits. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media, owned by Bonnier Corporation.
Media Contacts:
Unilever contact: Catherine Reynolds, MediaRelations.USA@unilever.com, 201-894-7760
NAFE contact: Stefanie McNamara, Stefanie.Mcnamara@bonniercorp.com, 516-729-9401