75% of the employees of Automatic Data Processing used flextime last year.

This Roseland, NJ–based payroll company delivered a knockout punch to a big barrier that was holding back its female employees. When its Small Business Services sales unit noticed that 83% of sales management jobs were taken by men, despite the overwhelming presence of women in that department, it investigated. The findings: Women weren’t even applying for the positions because they considered them to be too demanding on managers’ personal lives. To remedy the inequity, the company last year created the Sales Women in Leadership Steering Committee, which petitions for greater managerial flexibility and promotes the hiring of women throughout the sales pipeline. Since its launch last year, the number of female sales managers has jumped 16%.

President & CEO: Gary Butler

VP, HR Shared Services: Peggy Jude

Women managers/execs: 42%

Women among top earners: 30%

Women on board of directors: 8%

Women corporate executive hires in 2008: 21%

Women participating in management or leadership training in the past year: 37%

Women participating in formalized executive succession planning last year: 28%

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

Formal compensation policies reward managers who help women advance: Yes