Despite its smaller workforce, this secondary mortgage lender wows in its first appearance on our list, offering its 5,000+ employees opportunities that exceed those of larger organizations. Impressively, diverse workers fill 48% of all jobs, make up 44% of all hires and earn 46% of all promotions—and they’re increasingly well represented at the top, too, comprising 17% of all new officers. Rising female directors and officers are helped along by the Freddie Mac Women’s Cohort Program, which offers sponsorship, mentoring and skills training. Career coaching, leadership panels and heritage events entertain and inform members of the company’s seven employee networks, to which 25% of the workforce belongs. Diversity training includes one-day development workshops addressing the professional challenges faced by African American, Asian, Hispanic/Latino and female employees.

CEO: Ed Haldeman
Senior VP & CDO: Dwight Robinson

Multicultural women represent…
22% of total employees
7% of corporate executives
8% of senior managers
6% of the top earners
18% of the company promotions in 2011
9% of the board of directors in 2011
 
What percent of the multicultural women employees participated in mentoring? --

What percent of the multicultural women employees participated in affinity groups? 49%

This global hospitality company offers a wide range of opportunities to its hourly workers, from jobs in reservations and guest services to positions in finance, management, marketing and more. Flex schedules permit employees to choose from among three work shifts, to telecommute (as most reservations workers do) or to compress their workweeks. An in-house university offers more than 2,500 courses, and $1,200 in annual tuition aid is available to anyone who works at least 30 hours a week.

President and CEO: Christopher Nassetta

Chief HR Officer: Matthew Schuyler

Work hours required for family health insurance: 30

Formal advancement program offered for hourly employees? No

% 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? No

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

Empowering its hourly employees financially is a priority for this bank. It offers those working at least 20 hours per week the ability to build wealth with 401(k) plans and pretax dependent care and health care accounts (all of which are met by matching funds) and gives them the option of purchasing discounted stock. To promote wellness, the company offers flexible schedules and free medical screenings. In 2011, a call center renovation in Richmond introduced the bank’s fourth on-site health clinic.

Founder, Chairman and CEO: Richard Fairbank 

Chief HR Officer: Jory Berson

Work hours required for family health insurance: 20

Formal advancement program offered for hourly employees? No

% 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

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

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%

Female executives get a great liftoff to their careers by enrolling in this health-care system’s New Leader Pathway program. Designed to sharpen their management and leadership skills, it was originally offered as a set of initiatives that totaled 11 days, but has recently evolved into a two-year class schedule that includes lessons on critical thinking, handling workplace change and more. Prospective leaders at the manager level and above follow a structured development plan, which may necessitate additional courses at the University of Richmond and Notre Dame. Specialized coaching, skills assessments and $5,000 in annual tuition assistance help them reach their potential.

CEO: Peter Bernard

Administrative Director, Work & Family Services: Dawn Trivette

% of senior managers who are women: 70%

% of corporate executives who are women: 33%

% of promotions to manager, senior manager and corporate executive positions that went to women: 78%

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

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

% 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: 24%

% of the members of the board of directors who are women: 44%

% of female workforce participating in mentoring: 3%

Dr. Gauri Gulati Agarwal is a true “Master Mentor.” As the Associate Program Director for the VCU Health System Pediatric Residency Program and assistant professor of the Department of Pediatrics, Gauri is one of the first points of contact that young doctors have with VCU Health System, which is a large, urban academic medical center located in Richmond, Virginia.

Gauri is an advisor and mentor for undergraduate medical students who want to pursue pediatrics as a specialty field. And once the students come to VCU Health System for their residency training, she is thrilled to be a role model for them. Young physicians can become overwhelmed by the requirements of completing their residency training.

That’s why Guari enjoys showing residents that it’s entirely possible to accomplish what they want professionally while still having time to spend with their families. A mother of three young sons, Gauri says she loves the culture and programs at VCU Health System that help employees integrate their work and personal lives, including flexible scheduling, the onsite child care center and back up care.

In addition, Gauri continues to be the driving force behind programs that support breastfeeding moms, especially those at VCU Health System. (Several private lactation rooms featuring breastfeeding amenities like pumps, rocking chairs and iPod docking stations are located throughout the medical campus.) A certified lactation consultant, Gauri’s goal is to teach all young physicians about the value of breastfeeding so that they can pass the knowledge along to their patients and use it in their personal lives.

Using herself as an example, Gauri demonstrates to young physicians that they can truly have it all: a successful career and a happy, healthy family.

Kim Biggers Hayes, director of pharmacy services, is a shining example of the axiom, “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.” She never seems to tire of offering her time and energy to her family, her job and her church.

At the HCA Richmond Market hospital, Kim is viewed as a positive, knowledgeable and hard-working leader. Her leadership has contributed to the facility’s ability to provide high-quality and safe care to patients. For example, she oversaw the implementation of bar-code technology that insures that the correct medicine is delivered to the correct patient every time. She has also managed the hospital’s accredited pharmacy residency program that has trained eight aspiring leaders since its inception in 2002.

Kim has also supported the professional practice of pharmacy by mentoring students from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Pharmacy and serving on the Board of the Virginia Society of Health System Pharmacists.

Kim demonstrates her commitment to her community through her many church-related activities. She is a Youth Ministry Team leader, teaches 6th grade Sunday school, is a Small Group Leader for high school girls and is an ordained deacon. Through this work, Kim has taken trips to impoverished areas where the church’s youth groups engaged the local communities by sharing musical performances and undertaking community clean-up events and educational programs for the children.  She also shares her talent for musical performance, serving as pianist for the church’s Festival Orchestra.

Along with her professional and church activities, Kim finds time to be active in her children’s activities. She also serves on the James Madison University Parent Council and the Monacan High School Tennis Booster Association.

As a leader and mentor, Heather Cox has a profound impact on Capital One’s associates. Indeed, her passion for developing talent shows up in several ways.

As Executive Vice President, Card Operations, Heather is dedicated to helping others develop their skills and careers. She has several formal mentoring relationships with female executives and informally coaches a number of associates. She has also led an effort to help more than 600 managers grow the skills and knowledge to lead others to great results.

Heather noticed that often, smart women with good ideas came across as apologetic when presenting new ideas. She believed these women could be more influential with a more direct approach. In response, Heather spearheaded an initiative to help leaders in her organization develop more effective communication styles.

Heather often shares her leadership development story with Capital One audiences at All Hands and Town Hall meetings, and she was interviewed for Capital One’s Leadership One-on-One video series.

Heather is always open to new opportunities for learning, and says mentoring is symbiotic. She has a mentor and a coach, and as she mentors female executives and other associates, Heather says she learns how to communicate more openly, and learns from them.

Heather also shares the personal side of her evolution as a leader. “One revelation for me occurred when I became a mother,” she says. “It was no longer about me. It was a turning point in my journey, when I realized that the emotional side of leadership is as important as getting the results. Helping others develop, both personally and professionally, yields great results.”

Booz Allen Hamilton Associate Beth Mancuso had hoped that being an award-winning writer for a Fortune 500 company and a former Intelligence Analyst for the Army National Guard would inspire her children, but was surprised to find that her resilience in a particularly trying episode may have proved to be the most inspirational of all.

In 2007, when Beth’s husband was transferred out of state, her leadership agreed to let her telecommute full-time from what would be their new hometown. Beth planned to stay behind to sell the couple’s home, before she and her then 5- and 6-year-old children were reunited with her husband.

Instead, their home went up for sale just as the Washington, D.C.-area housing market plummeted. When it finally sold a year later, the news was bittersweet; Beth’s husband had asked for a divorce the week before.

Now Beth had more than the emotional ordeal of a divorce to deal with, but the prospect of having to vacate her home with two young children in a matter of weeks—with no destination—while continuing to work full time.

Undaunted, Beth moved in with family and set a goal of buying a home within a year.

 “And through it all, Booz Allen was incredibly supportive,” says Beth, who celebrated 15 years with the firm in August. “My leadership allowed me to telecommute, which made all the difference. I was able to continue being successful at work, Camden and Megan completed the school year in a loving environment, and we moved into a wonderful new home in Charlotte where I’ve continued to telecommute full-time.”

Now 10 and 11, Megan and Camden enjoy volunteering with their mother at Booz Allen-supported community service events like the International Coastal Cleanup.

 “Divorce can be a big set back for young children,” says Beth. “Many are in a state of flux and see their parents in a vulnerable state. But because of Booz Allen’s support, my children saw that a working mom can persevere through adversity, be there 100 percent for her family, and still continue to be successful at the job she loves.”