In 2011, women were 41% of the managers in Verizon Communications’ six-month Leadership Excellence Program, which offers career development workshops with mentoring and coaching.

When this broadband and communications company held its first Global Women’s Summit in 2011, management quickly saw how the event motivated its aspiring and current female executives. Hoping to capitalize on that momentum, it launched three career development workshops for U.S. women, which show them how to better lead teams, communicate their goals and make complex decisions. Intent on diversifying the executive pipeline (currently 30% female), the company also maintains supportive offerings, including a six-month executive-coaching initiative, more than a dozen mentoring programs and $8,000 in annual tuition aid.

Chairman & CEO: Lowell McAdam

Chief Administrative Officer: Marc Reed

% of senior managers who are women: 31%

% of corporate executives who are women: 29%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 32%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 28%

% of the executives running divisions with revenues of more than a billion dollars who are women: 18%

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 17%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 25%