With a solid leadership training curriculum, thousands of development courses, mentoring circles, executive coaching and a wealth of external initiatives, this broadband and communications company has its bases covered when it comes to programs that encourage the advancement of women. On the ground, however, it is the numbers that count. women now hold down 29% of the positions at the VP level and above and serve as 36% of the directors and executive directors, up 7% from 2009—and they say it’s this internal movement that makes the difference. “The best form of mentoring and support has been being put in a new job,” agrees Radhika Venkatraman, VP of information technology, who has had nine different assignments over the course of ten years. Senior women in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and other cities empower themselves at networking and leadership events; global women’s summits encourage female executives to keep challenging themselves.

Chairman & CEO: Ivan Seidenberg

Executive VP, Corporate HR: Lowell Mcadam

% of senior managers who are women: 31%

% of corporate executives who are women: 29%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 34%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 33%

% 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: 24%

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 0%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 15%

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: 1%

Parents who like being involved in their children’s education feel supported by this broadband and communications company, which allows employees to take one to three paid days off to help out in their local schools and donates up to $750 to each institution for which they volunteer 50 hours annually. If they want to drive their kids to a tutoring session or attend their plays and events, parents can use flextime or telecommute, as 69% of the workforce did in 2010. Their teenagers rely on the company’s college-coaching program and can apply for its four-year, $20,000 scholarships. Parents educate themselves by exploring more than 17,000 online company courses or requesting up to $8,000 in annual tuition aid for job-related classes. Formal and informal mentoring programs abound.

Chairman & CEO Ivan Seidenberg

Executive VP, Corporate HR Marc Reed

Women managers/execs 33% 

Women among top earners 38% 

Women hires in 2010 43% 

Average weeks of fully paid maternity leave offered 2 

Allows new moms to “phase back” into work with reduced hours? Yes

Offers affinity group for new mothers? No

Offers backup childcare? Yes

Employees working flexibly 69%

Management at this broadband and communications company is making a big push to promote diverse employees. In the wireless division alone, 35% of those in line for leadership positions are women, and 26% are people of color. Many benefit from a special focus within its newly expanded My Backfill succession planning program, which is now hitting new highs in its advancement of multicultural men and women. To heighten accountability companywide, a new automated diversity scorecard provides a snapshot of everyone’s professional standing for leaders to examine during their quarterly operations review. The annual three-day Diversity leadership institute meeting encourages top talent to work toward creating a truly inclusive culture, and managers’ annual bonus is increased if they meet their advancement goals for diverse employees.

Chairman & CEO Ivan Seidenberg
VP, Talent Management & Chief Diversity Officer Magda Yrizarry

At Verizon Communications, multicultural women represent…
18% multicultural women
6% of corporate executives
8% of senior managers
14% of the top earners
24% of the company hires
11% of the company promotions
21% of the company losses
14% of participants in mentoring programs
Not tracked participants in affinity groups

$4 million: What Verizon Communications spent on college scholarships for employees’ dependents in 2009.

What We Love
Lunchtime workouts keep moms fit at this telecommunications company, where 31 on-site health and wellness centers offer yoga, spin and Pilates classes for $15 per month. Discounts at more than 2,000 U.S. health clubs make fitness feasible elsewhere. Expanded on-site medical screenings, immunizations, mammograms and smoking cessation initiatives promote health, while a new website offers health risk assessments that help users pinpoint needed lifestyle changes. New birth moms may take six partially paid weeks off, then reduce their hours for up to a year; there's also $10,000 in adoption aid.

Chairman & CEO Ivan Seidenberg

Executive VP, Corporate HR Marc Reed

Women managers, senior managers and corporate execs 33%

Women among top earners 40%

Women on board of directors 17%

Women corporate executive hires in 2009 0%

Women participating in management or leadership training in the past year* 13%

Women participating in formalized executive succession planning last year* 9%

Women promoted last year who utilized a formal flexible work arrangement 50%

Do formal compensation policies reward managers who help women advance? Yes

*Percentages reflect number of women participants versus company’s total female workforce.

In 2009, Verizon Communications spent $120 million on its employee tuition assistance program, an increase of $2 million from the previous year.

Creating a new generation of diverse leaders preoccupies this massive broadband and communications company, which offers a variety of programs to educate and develop its multicultural women. During Insights for Success, a two-day workshop featuring sessions for top female, African-American and Latino employees, women engage in role-playing exercises that prepare them to face professional challenges and are advised by executive leaders on the best ways to map out their careers. High-potential multicultural women who attend the company’s Diversity Leadership Institute work to refine their management skills and are also mentored by corporate executives—indeed, participation in the program has been tied to 32% of promotions for all female employees. The Wireless Diversity Leaders workshop for multicultural middle managers and above has proven so engaging that 95% of its alumni remain with the company. Also in the Wireless Division, the My Backfill succession-planning program prepares women and people of color to assume key positions.

Multicultural Women 18%
Chairman & CEO Ivan Seidenberg
VP, Workplace Culture, Diversity & Compliance Magda Yrizarry

At Verizon Communications, multicultural women represent…
6% of corporate executives
7% of senior managers
14% of the top earners
24% of the company hires
23% of the company losses
70% of participants in mentoring programs
Not tracked % of participants in career counseling programs

*Denotes a member of the Top 5 Best Companies for Multicultural Women

Verizon’s award-winning Supplier Diversity Managers program has hired 20 investment firms owned by people of color to manage more than $1 billion of its assets.

“It’s the network” isn’t just an advertising slogan for this major wireless, wireline and broadband services provider—it’s also the secret to the company’s success. Verizon pursues employees who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table and considers diversity essential to that mission. Today, 26% of its new hires are women of color, as are 15% of its top earners. Multicultural female leaders like Jeannie Diefenderfer (VP of global operations for business) and Magda Yrizarry (chief diversity officer) often stay with the company for several decades. Even more impressive: Some 10% of multicultural women execs host mentoring circles to support the next generation. And in the ultimate seal of approval, senior leaders, including CEO Ivan Seidenberg, have tied 5% of their pay to how well they achieve diversity goals.

Multicultural Women: 18%

Multicultural Women Managers/Execs: 9%

Chief Diversity Officer: Magda Yrizarry

Hires who are multicultural women: 26%

Hires who are multicultural men: 22%

Multicultural women managers/execs: 9%

Multicultural men managers/execs: 15%

Top 20% earners who are multicultural women: 15%

Top 20% earners who are multicultural men: 18%

Multicultural women on board of directors: 0%

Offers formal compensation program to reward managers who specifically help multicultural women advance: YES

Rates managers on the number of multicultural women employees advancing: NO

Uses outside recruiter to focus on finding multicultural women candidates: YES

Offers support groups specifically for multicultural women: NO

Offers mentoring programs specifically geared toward multicultural women early in their careers: YES

Offers sponsorship program specifically geared toward multicultural women early in their careers: NO

Verizon Wireless pays all ob-gyn bills for pregnant employees, with reimbursements for Lamaze classes, breast pumps and lactation consultants.

Moms with an eye on the corner office would do well to apply to this New York City–based telecommunications giant, where women secured 43% of all management promotions and tuition reimbursements (up to $8,000 annually) last year. Its Diversity Leadership Institute helps women identify career goals and hone networking skills, while the three-day Professional Women’s Workshop offers leadership training. Plus, more than a dozen mentoring programs help guide women’s professional development. In 2008, the Wireless division introduced My Backfill, an accelerated succession-planning program that helped women nab 40% of new positions at the director level and above. Busy moms rely on two on-site child-care centers in Orangeburg, NY, and Alpharetta, GA; 10% discounts at 2,000 facilities nationwide; and in-home and center-based backup care costing $2 to $4 per hour.

Chairman & CEO: Ivan Seidenberg

Executive VP, Corporate HR: Marc Reed

Women managers/execs: 33%

Women among top earners: 33%

Women on board of directors: 17%

Women corporate executive hires in 2008: 0%

Women participating in management or leadership training in the past year: 79%

Women participating in formalized executive succession planning last year: 33%

Women promoted last year who utilized a formal flexible work arrangement: 31%

Formal compensation policies reward managers who help women advance: Yes