2 paid months off with benefits are available to Patagonia employees who wish to intern for environmental nonprofits.

Work can feel like play for moms at the Ventura, CA, headquarters of this apparel company, located just a block from the Pacific Ocean. Co-owner Malinda Chouinard, the mother of two employees, founded an on-site child-care center 25 years ago, and kids still romp there from 7:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., five days a week. Longtime “Patagoniacs” can watch their own grown children push their grandkids on the swings. New moms and dads can take up to eight paid weeks off with their newborns or adopted children, knowing that they will return to a close, relaxed office where employees run, surf, barbecue and volunteer together—and even fill in for each other when kids are sick. If they need to take their babies on work trips, parents can bring a babysitter along on the company dime. Mentors and mentees are paired by what they have in common (everything from young kids to bike racing) as much as by the work they do.

CEO: Richard Sheahan

Director, HR: Lucinda Setnicka

Women managers/execs: 52%

Women among top earners: 39%

Women on board of directors: 43%

Women corporate executive hires in 2008: 100%

Women participating in management or leadership training in the past year: 25%

Women participating in formalized executive succession planning last year: 66%

Women promoted last year who utilized a formal flexible work arrangement: 100%

Formal compensation policies reward managers who help women advance: Yes