$5,000 in a company-sponsored pretax dependent-care account is how much AOL workers saving for child-care or elder-care expenses can sock away.

Hiring talented moms is only part of the family-friendly strategy for this New York City–based media, Internet and advertising firm; it also supports their rise through the ranks. While its Women’s Network Mentor program gives female associates an opportunity to bond with superiors at the director level or above, high-potential female leaders are provided with individual coaching and given specific goals designed to advance their careers. In fact, women in line for positions with profit-and-loss responsibilities are routinely urged to shadow others in those jobs and to test their skills while acquiring new ones in a job-rotation program. Through their participation in the Breakthrough Leadership program offered by Simmons College, female vice presidents learn strategies to deflect gender dynamics that could hamper their success.

Chairman & CEO: Tim Armstrong

Senior VP: Michaela Oliver

Women managers/execs: 35%

Women among top earners: 25%

Women on board of directors: 8%

Women corporate executive hires in 2008: 100%

Women participating in management or leadership training in the past year: 15%

Women participating in formalized executive succession planning last year: 100%

Women promoted last year who utilized a formal flexible work arrangement: 28%

Formal compensation policies reward managers who help women advance: No