The School at Work program at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics pays hourly employees their usual wages to attend its career-enhancing and functional skills courses; they also receive mentors and coaches.

Excellent training programs aren’t the only things helping to propel hourly workers toward the top at this academic medical center. They can also increase their fortunes by taking advantage of its free financial counseling, pretax dependent care and health care accounts (which allow them to stash up to $5,000 and $7,500 per year) and affordable backup care aimed at kids, adults and elder relatives. Generous tuition aid helps them pay for 15 academic credits per year.

President and CEO: Donna Katen-Bahensky

Senior VP, HR: Janice Bultema

Work hours required for family health insurance: 12

Formal advancement program offered for hourly employees? --

% of hourly employees promoted to manager positions: --

Job-skills training offered for hourly employees? Yes

Managers rewarded for helping hourly employees advance? Yes

Lactation program offered for nursing mother employees? Yes

Paid time off offered to employees? Yes

Employee mothers with one year of service offered extra time off (beyond the 12 weeks required by FMLA) following childbirth? Yes

At University of New Mexico Hospitals, employee activities include bowling leagues, knitting circles, bike rides, crafting classes and camping events.

Management really invests in employee development at this academic medical center. An astounding 97% of all tuition aid goes to hourly employees, and mentoring and speed networking benefit everyone from registration clerks to patient-care technicians. Free continuing education is available in nearly all job functions, and there are full scholarships for employees who work in speech therapy, radiology and nursing. Hourly staffers may be recommended for the Up & Comers program, through which they receive new manager/supervisor education.

CEO, UNM Hospitals; COO, UNM Health System: Stephen McKernan

Administrator HR: James Pendergast

Work hours required for family health insurance: 20

Formal advancement program offered for hourly employees? Yes

% of hourly employees promoted to manager positions: 1%

Job-skills training offered for hourly employees? Yes

Managers rewarded for helping hourly employees advance? No

Lactation program offered for nursing mother employees? Yes

Paid time off offered to employees? Yes

Employee mothers with one year of service offered extra time off (beyond the 12 weeks required by FMLA) following childbirth? Yes

At Bon Secours Virginia Health System, employees who meet with hard times can request grants of up to $1,000, available through an in-house crisis fund.

Named as one of the 2011 Gallup Great Workplaces, this health care system is known for the great benefits it offers hourly workers, who dominate its employee rolls. Parents appreciate its three day care facilities, discounted sick-child care, summer camps and subsidized backup care; plus, for teens, the company offers on-site college coaching, college fairs and $1,000 scholarships. Under a new program, employees can scale their hours back in the summer.

CEO: Peter Bernard

Admin Director, Work and Family Services: Dawn Trivette

Work hours required for family health insurance: 16

Formal advancement program offered for hourly employees? Yes

% of hourly employees promoted to manager positions: 1%

Job-skills training offered for hourly employees? Yes

Managers rewarded for helping hourly employees advance? Yes

Lactation program offered for nursing mother employees? Yes

Paid time off offered to employees? Yes

Employee mothers with one year of service offered extra time off (beyond the 12 weeks required by FMLA) following childbirth? Yes

At WellStar Health System, nurses, flex workers and executives benefit from coaching, mentoring, job rotations and stretch assignments.

Dedicated RNs can go far at this health-care organization. Under a brand-new Clinical Nurse Leader program, high-potential women interested in careers as patient-care experts are eligible for fully paid master’s degrees at the University of West Georgia; others can improve their prospects by completing the four levels of the system’s Clinical Advancement program, or pursuing a fellowship in emergency, critical and medical/surgical care. Nurses, doctors and physician assistants take advantage of on-site business and leadership courses as part of the system’s collaboration with Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business. Continuing education is widely available to other employees.

President & CEO: Reynold Jennings

Executive VP, HR/Organizational Learning: David Anderson

% of senior managers who are women: 58%

% of corporate executives who are women: 48%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 87%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 66%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 47%

% of the executives running divisions with revenues of more than a billion dollars who are women: 25%

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 25%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 12%

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: 4%

Women are 80% of those who receive management and leadership training at VCU Health System.

Whatever their goals may be, women who work at this academic medical center can obtain them by pursuing up to 18 college credits per year, all on their employer’s dime. In 2011, nearly 1,000 workers took advantage of this offering, with the center paying many of their costs up front, saving them the out-of-pocket expense. Among those who have benefited? Director of radiology Sharon Gibbs, whose master’s degree has taken her all the way from a position as technician to the head of one of the center’s largest revenue-producing departments. Early in her career, Gibbs also received a scholarship to attend development courses at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, as four managers do each year.

CEO: Sheldon Retchin, MD

Chief HR Officer: Maria Curran

% of senior managers who are women: 29%

% of corporate executives who are women: 48%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 76%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 49%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 48%

% of the executives running divisions with revenues of more than a billion dollars who are women: 60%

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 33%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 24%

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: 4%

Managers and directors chosen for TriHealth’s Fast-Track Leadership program take high-level classes, complete challenging assignments and work with mentors who help them advance.

Outside-the-box thinking defines the leadership programs at this health-care system, where VPs, directors and supervisors may find themselves screening movies for a discussion on authority figures or swapping favorite passages at business-themed book clubs. But activities like these are just a small part of what goes on at TriHealth Leadership Academy (TLA), located on-site and online, which boasts dozens of training seminars, courses and workshops that help to strengthen executives’ workplace effectiveness and understanding of the bottom line. An impressive 84% of current TLA attendees are women; while a select group of executives are treated to high-level coaching, anyone who’s just been promoted to manager or senior executive can sign up for a session that helps them adapt to their role.

President & CEO: John Prout

Chief HR Officer: Walter McLarty

% of senior managers who are women: 67%

% of corporate executives who are women: 33%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 91%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 83%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 33%

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

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 25%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 23%

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: 4%

Northwestern Memorial HealthCare supports employee education with up to $5,250 in annual tuition aid and an on-site training and development center.

Engaging talks on work life balance, executive panels on the role of mentoring in career advancement, networking lunches hosted by senior women. Every meeting of the Women’s Leadership Group at this academic medical center offers something to make female executives and managers think. That’s equally true of the center’s Leadership Development program, which finds clinical managers learning from their peers, senior execs and professional coaches, and trading best practices in preparation for key roles. Nurses with an eye on the executive track may take advantage of free certification review classes, a 15% bachelor’s degree discount, scholarships, mentoring and leadership workshops.

President & CEO: Dean M. Harrison

Senior VP, HR: Dean L. Manheimer

% of senior managers who are women: 63%

% of corporate executives who are women: 20%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 80%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 69%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 20%

% of the executives running divisions with revenues of more than a billion dollars who are women: 0%

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 29%

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

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: 3%

In 2011, female executives occupied five of Moffitt Cancer Center’s six spaces in the Advisory Board’s Academy Fellowship program, which examines best practices in health care and prepares participants for future leadership roles.

When your professional priorities jibe with those of your employer, success can’t be far off. This cancer research and treatment center helps female directors become vice presidents through a one-year development program that explores its strategies, mission and financial goals, as well as the seven management areas that leaders are expected to master. Rising stars may join the Women’s Leadership Circle, whose 86 members are among the system’s top executives; at meetings, the newest participants often receive mentoring from those with more experience. Prominent members include Nancy Ziel, a former nurse who’s now administrative director of satellite operations; and Yvette Tremonti, a onetime director of accounting and current EVP for strategy and business development.

CEO & Director: William S. Dalton, PhD, MD

VP, HR & Organizational Development: Joanne Olsen

% of senior managers who are women: 62%

% of corporate executives who are women: 28%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 7%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 64%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 36%

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

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 30%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 28%

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: <1%

At Mercy Health System, up-and-coming female leaders can attend workshops on financial management, go on group retreats and receive mentoring from senior executives.

Knowing what opportunities are out there is half the battle when it comes to making career decisions—and at this health-care system, where female executives create a development plan right from the start, it helps that they can temporarily test out positions in other departments or shadow senior leaders on the job. Employees complete an average of 31 hours of continuing education every year, and they can easily supplement that, drawing on $3,000 in annual tuition aid and more than a dozen scholarships (including one just for pursuing an MBA or MS). If they need to go on sabbatical to complete their studies, they may be able to have their employer simply double their paid time off.

President & CEO: Javon Bea

VP, HR & Organizational Development: Kathy Harris

% of senior managers who are women: 62%

% of corporate executives who are women: 36%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 100%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 83%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 33%

% of the executives running divisions with revenues of more than a billion dollars who are women: 100%

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 36%

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

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: 15%

64% of the executives on the leadership team at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta are women.

When this pediatric health-care system promotes its executives, it’s likely to draw from its own ranks: In fact, 65% of its current leaders have risen up through the organization. Little wonder, then, that it spends $7 million annually to train and develop employees, with the bulk of its efforts focused on the in-house Center for Leadership. Through its initiatives, female directors spend 18 months learning about the business and personal strategies necessary for executive positions; managers enroll in a one-year program that helps fast-track their careers. Mentoring, coaching and tuition aid of up to $5,000 keep everyone moving ahead.

President & CEO: Donna Hyland

Senior VP, Strategic Planning & HR: Linda Matzigkeit

% of senior managers who are women: 65%

% of corporate executives who are women: 43%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 79%

% of the top 10% of the company’s earners who are women: 73%

% of corporate executives with profit-and-loss responsibility who are women: 70%

% of the executives running divisions with revenues of more than a billion dollars who are women: 100%

% of executives who report directly to the CEO who are women: 60%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 26%

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: 8%