Mary is from Ramsey, NY, and mom to Justin (22) and Jordan (16).

With her seemingly endless energy, infectious enthusiasm and reliable determination, Mary Falvey leads by example for the more than 26,000 associates at Wyndham Worldwide. A human resources professional for more than 25 years and mother of two, Mary’s passionate, yet practical approach goes far beyond the ordinary, providing a great model for how to be exceptional at both work and home.

While her role as executive vice president and chief human resources officer inherently drives career development, she also often gives her personal time  to many associates. Whether it’s through the always open door of her office or a chat in the hallway, Mary truly listens to associates’ ambitions in both career and life and then helps work to get them there.

Mary’s commitment to mentoring is reflected in the wide range of opportunities offered throughout Wyndham Worldwide. One example is the Associate Business Group program, which enables associates with similar backgrounds to meet, network, and promote career development. There are currently six groups including African Americans, Hispanic, Asian Indian, veterans, and LGBT.

The first Associate Business Group, which Mary personally championed, was for working women. The group provides numerous mentor opportunities, both formal and informal. For instance, this past year, a “speed mentoring” event offered 15-minute, one-on-one conversations with dozens of senior leaders from all areas of the company, allowing for a wide range of perspective and experiences all in one session.

Through the culture she promotes and example she sets every day, Mary continues to support working mothers, and all associates at Wyndham Worldwide to reach their full potential.

 

Michelle is from Ashburn, VA, and mom to Nick (15), Ben (13), Emily (11) and Abby (8).

Michelle Mutton, vice president of corporate and statutory accounting, has seen the benefits of positive mentoring relationships throughout her 21 years with the company from both sides.

When Michele first became a manager, she looked to her assigned mentor to help guide her through as she learned to manage people. With her mentor’s advice, Michelle made the adjustment from doing the work herself to managing others. As her career grew, so did her network, and after seeing the positive results of being involved in a mentoring relationship, she knew it was time for her to give back and become one herself.

Over the years, Michelle has enjoyed interacting with many formal and informal protégés, particularly other working mothers. She feels a strong connection to those women who are as interested in their families as they are in their careers, and often uses her own experiences when she gives advice on time management and effectiveness at work and at home. With four active children of her own and a team of 50 associates at work, Michelle is an expert on this subject. “It’s a part of my job, but I truly enjoy seeing others grow and develop in their careers,” she says.

Within her own organization, she maintains an open-door policy and checks in on new hires regularly to ensure that they have access to the tools, resources, information and people that they need.

Both Michelle and her family recognize what a positive experience she has had with Marriott: “I am hoping that watching my career over the years may instill some interest in my children to consider Marriott as a potential career choice. Maybe one of them is a future general manager in the making!”

Mom to Alyssa (9), Kylie (7), Tatum (5), Marshall (3), Sawyer (1) and Beckett (2 months), Jenne hails from Dayton, MN.

Jenne Roper, director of brand marketing, always wanted a big family and career fulfillment. She got both at Carlson.

In 1997, Jenne, whose siblings already worked at Carlson, started in the call center right out of college. She steadily progressed up the corporate ladder, eventually meeting her husband there.

Six kids and a demanding full-time job later, Jenne is a master of multi-tasking at work and home. As director of brand marketing for Carlson Hotels, she’s highly organized and does an exceptional job of compartmentalizing everything in her life.  She’s clear that when she’s at work, she focuses on work, but at home, her attention is on the family. Each of Jenne’s six maternity leaves have been at Carlson, and she’s appreciated Carlson’s flexibility to determine what works well for her in terms of transitioning back to work.

 “My team members have always jumped right in to pick up my work while I was out,” she says, adding her appreciation that there’s no “cookie cutter approach” at Carlson for what employees need to do to achieve work-life balance. “The supportive culture is a part of the fabric of Carlson,” she says.

With six children, ages 2 months to 9 years old, Jenne and her stay-at-home husband believe it’s important to give each child individual time. Jenne has a tradition of spending a hour nightly with each child. She reads to them or they read to her.  They look forward to this “alone-time” with Mom and Jenne relishes it, too.  She’s truly an inspiration to all working moms.

Wyndham Worldwide offers its associates up to $6,000 annually to offset the cost of certifications and degrees.

Women with a wide variety of interests enjoy working at this hospitality company, which boasts more than 100,000 hotels, vacation properties and time-shares around the globe. To stay energized, they exercise in fitness facilities at its largest U.S. locations (Indianapolis, IN, Parsippany, NJ, and Orlando, FL), using free memberships that allow them to indulge in personal training, join weight-management programs, take kickboxing and Zumba and even play volleyball. Walking paths give them a chance to shed stress during lunch, while wellness centers help them watch their blood pressure, manage chronic conditions and handle emergencies. Finding child care isn’t hard, either: Discounts are available through several U.S. chains. To blow off steam, moms can play ping-pong and pool at headquarters.

Chairman & CEO Stephen Holmes

Executive VP & Chief HR Officer Mary Falvey

Women managers/execs 30% 

Women among top earners 47% 

Women hires in 2010 51% 

Average weeks of fully paid maternity leave offered 10 

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 Not tracked

While there had historically been a 30-hour-per-week minimum requirement to earn healthcare, through 2010, full-time hourly associates were still allowed to retain their insurance if they ended up working less often than that.

Never one to rest on its laurels, this hospitality services company celebrated its twentieth year on our list by making dramatic upgrades to its offerings. Parents were thrilled when the child-care center at headquarters, which once held 97 kids, added to its staff and got a serious makeover—becoming a brighter, bigger space with room for 113. In the same building, a popular lactation room that was seeing 16,000 visits from moms each year was thoroughly rebuilt, doubling in size to make space for eight private nursing areas and getting brand-new breast pumps. Every hotel was assigned a wellness coordinator, and employees were given access to free health coaching, walking groups, weight-loss initiatives and discounts on their insurance premiums. Workers who made serious attempts to get more sleep, exercise more and eat better won prizes.

Chairman & CEO J.W. Marriott, Jr.

Executive VP, Global HR David Rodriguez

Women managers/execs 52% 

Women among top earners 48% 

Women hires in 2010 55% 

Average weeks of fully paid maternity leave offered 0

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 100%

In 2010, Carlson’s on-site daycare at headquarters extended backup care to school-aged kids for use during school breaks and summer vacations.

Employees rave about the casual, collegial atmosphere at this international travel and hospitality company, which throws family picnics for its workers promotes local volunteering during work hours and supports alternative work arrangements. Many moms build decades-long careers here, and their ranks are swelling at the top: Women held 46% of positions at the director level and above last year, including 37% over the level of vice president. Management works hard to retain the best female talent; in one memorable instance, it even allowed an agent to telecommute to a Texas office while living in Alaska. To help its employee families put down roots, the company offers financial counseling to anyone renting a new apartment or planning to make a down payment on a house.

President & CEO Hubert Joly 

Executive VP, HR Elizabeth Bastoni

Women managers/execs 49% 

Women among top earners 63% 

Women hires in 2010 49% 

Average weeks of fully paid maternity leave offered 3 

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 100%

Sodexo employees who promote inclusion in the workplace are named Champions of Diversity.

Whether they work on the frontline or in the back room, multicultural women are vital to the success of this food- and facilities management services company, where they made up more than a quarter of the employees hired last year. many of them forge key relationships in the company’s affinity groups, the list of which includes the African-American leadership Forum, the Sodexo organization of latinos and the Pan-Asian network. Minority women who have taken on leadership roles within those networks say that it enhances their visibility with executives, showcases their potential and keeps them top of mind for premium assignments. Multicultural women now fill 20% more management positions than they did five years ago, and many take advantage of formal mentoring. The annual Diversity Business and leadership Summit offers workshops on cross-cultural communication.

President & CEO George Chavel
Senior VP & Global Chief Diversity Officer Rohini Anand

At Sodexo, multicultural women represent…
28% multicultural women
7% of corporate executives
9% of senior managers
13% of the top earners
27% of the company hires
13% of the company promotions
28% of the company losses
12% of participants in mentoring programs
14% of participants in affinity groups

At McDonald’s USA, 55% of the company’s spending on food and paper products goes to businesses owned by women and people of color.

With more than 14,000 restaurants across the united States, this food service retailer works to make its employee policies reflective of the communities it serves. it has offered diversity education since the 1970s, and more than 80% of its managers participated in such training last year, focusing on courses that explore differences in communication across gender, age, racial and ethnic lines. Whether they work in the restaurants or the home office, managers know that their performance appraisals will reflect their ability to supervise a diverse workforce and support the advancement of multicultural women. intent on ramping up its efforts, the company recently upped its diversity budget by 20% and hired a new director of diversity education. It also expanded its existing web of leadership networks, affinity groups and career development classes.

Chairman & CEO James Skinner
VP & Global Chief Diversity Officer Patricia Harris

At McDonald’s, multicultural women represent…
39% multicultural women
10% of corporate executives
10% of senior managers
10% of the top earners
33% of the company hires
7% of the company promotions
34% of the company losses
20% of participants in mentoring programs
Not tracked participants in affinity groups

More than 3,000 Marriott managers started with the company as hourly workers.

This hospitality services company has long been famed for the flexibility it offers its hourly employees—everything from compressed workweeks for hotel staffers to at-home jobs for those in customer service. What’s less well known is the range of career development initiatives it offers such workers, who benefit from 10,000 job-related courses and at least 40 hours of training annually. For some, getting hired has been transformative: “Marriott has not just given me a job,” says Anita Tela, a housekeeping supervisor in Towson, MD, and mom of six. “It’s helped me move up the ladder by sending me to trainings and workshops, and provided opportunities for professional growth.” Employees meet with their supervisors twice a year to discuss the details of their career plans, and there’s a specialized management-track program that helps hourly workers advance. Anyone who puts in 30 hours per week is eligible for $2,000 in annual tuition aid, but there’s no such hourly requirement if their kids want to apply for Marriott’s school scholarships, which average $3,721 apiece. Little ones love the newly expanded and renovated child-care center available at headquarters, which provides reduced tuition; in other cities, local day cares may waive their enrollment fees or offer special rates.

Hourly Workers 87%

Chairman & CEO J.W. Marriott, Jr.

Executive VP, Global HR David Rodriguez

Female hourly workers 55%

Work hours required for family health insurance 30

Job skills training during work hours for hourly workers Yes

Encourage breaks so nursing moms can breast-pump Yes

Average annual paid time off taken by hourly workers 15 days

Minimum job-guaranteed maternity leave offered to hourly workers 12 weeks

Minimum paid maternity leave offered to hourly workers 6 weeks at partial pay

74% of Sodexo’s training and development budget targets hourly workers.

With a wide swath of 6,000 clients to serve across North America, this service-solutions company places hourly workers everywhere from cafeterias and laundry plants to custodial and housekeeping departments. But to ensure its own gears keep turning properly, it relies on its administrative assistants, who finally scored a development initiative of their own last spring. The Administrative Professional Engagement Program offers mentoring, live and virtual networking, educational opportunities, scholarships and industry association memberships to hourly workers at headquarters, in Buffalo, NY, and in Allentown, PA. While its current focus is on corporate staff, the program will soon be available across all business units. “Having access to a mentor helps in the development of your skills, so you never feel behind the team,” says Cindy Clemenza, executive assistant to the company’s chief human resources officer. To further expand their horizons, employees who work 30 hours per week can apply for $2,500 in tuition aid each year and sign up for free management, computer and culinary courses through Sodexo University. High-potential frontline employees in Atlanta and Oklahoma City recently piloted Supervisor Essentials, a program that offers them the training, networking and mentoring they need to grow their own careers.

Hourly workers 87%

CEO George Chavel

Senior VP & Global Chief Diversity Officer Rohini Anand

Female hourly workers 61%

Work hours required for family health insurance 30

Job skills training during work hours for hourly workers Yes

Encourage breaks so nursing moms can breast-pump No

Average annual paid time off taken by hourly workers 15 days

Minimum job-guaranteed maternity leave offered to hourly workers 12 weeks

Minimum paid maternity leave offered to hourly workers Varies