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Automakers Give Working Moms Top Spot
Nov 29 2007 by Emily Hansen
11/29/2007
Not Your Daddy's Car Companies
I've been hanging around cars for a couple of years now, yet I'm still surprised by how skewed that arena is to the masculine side of the world; I suspect most people don't think of the words "woman" and "mother" first when they think about the car business. That's why I was so impressed when I saw that both Chrysler and Ford had made Working Mother Magazine's list of the Top 100 companies for working moms.
To determine who makes the annual list, Working Mother Magazine evaluates numerous applications. Editors use a scoring and appraisal system that measures some easy-to-quantify qualities, like retention, opportunity for advancement, and availability of family-friendly benefits. More subjective factors like company culture and flexibility are also evaluated.
New this year was an effort to judge how well each company on the list has adapted to changing workplace dynamics created by things like multiple generations of women working together and melding their work styles. Imagine a Boomer mom working among Gen X and Y peers, and the differences in how they might communicate, manage and shop for office supplies. OK, I made up the office supply part.
According to the report, 60 percent of Chrysler's female employees participated in management or leadership training last year, and about 18 percent of the female employees are in leadership roles. Similarly, at Ford, female employees use the company's "Professional Women's Network" to practice presentation skills, network with the company's senior management and improve their own leadership qualities.
According to the magazine, Ford claims 100 percent participation in its flextime benefit offered to salaried employees, as well as an eight-week, full-pay childcare leave, with an option to extend that (without pay) for an entire year. One stress for working parents is what to do when a child is sick and cannot go to school or childcare. Ford knows this can lead to lower productivity on the job, so it offers "Safe at Home," a program that provides in-home care that's covered up to 80 percent by the automaker.
Chrysler offers moms great benefits, too, like flextime and job sharing after returning from maternity leave. In addition to that, the company has negotiated discounts at local childcare facilities and offers flexible spending accounts that employees can use to pay for that care.
Kim Adams House, a brand manager for the Jeep Liberty, said that her flexible 80 percent workweek allows her to balance her roles as corporate executive and mom to two active boys. She said having an extra couple of hours with her kids right after they get out of school has had a positive impact on her family. It's not just her. Kim said many of her colleagues have flexible work schedules, including job sharing.
Way to go, Chrysler and Ford! We look forward to hearing more positive mommy-news from you in the future.
Always great to read about companies being forward thinking when it comes to supporting women/families.
I wonder if they offer the same understanding to women everywhere or if it’s just in the US…