“Working Mother” Names Best Companies for Parents

Last week, I mentioned Working Mother magazine’s list of 100 Best Companies, in the context of HRC’s Corporate Equality Index. Today, Working Mother just put out its updated 2006 list.

It’s useful to look through the list and see whether the company you want to work for or buy from is family friendly. It’s also worth reading through the Working Mother feature to gather ideas from some of the specific programs in place at various firms. PricewaterhouseCoopers, for example, offers parents up to five years (unpaid) off to raise their children. During that time, they will be expected to keep in touch with a few named colleagues, may participate in training and licensing programs as well as social and networking events, and can rejoin the company at the end of their leave. (The program is, however, only available to “high-performing senior associates and above.”) This isn’t just a touchy-feely move, though. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that when an employee leaves, it costs the firm $80,000 in recruiting expenses and lost productivity.

For those who wish to come back to work sooner, Principal Financial Group offers Working Caregiver Leave. Employees work a reduced schedule at reduced pay for 12 weeks but with full benefits, allowing them to transition back more easily. “In 2000, two years before the program began, 74 percent of those who took maternity leave left the company within 12 months. . . . In 2004, only 9 percent of those who took Working Caregiver Leave did so.”

The trend towards flexibility for working parents, particularly mothers, seems to be moving in the right direction. Yet as organizations like Moms Rising and Mothers Ought to Have Equal Rights remind us, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. There’s also room for lesbian moms to get involved in these organizations and make sure the “mothers’ movement” includes our perspectives and needs. LGBT benefits and parental benefits go hand in hand to create more productive workers and happier families.