2020 was a particularly difficult year for women — challenges like school and daycare closures reduced their workforce participation rate to its lowest since the 1970s. But it was also a year of significant progress in workplace gender equality initiatives, according to Parity.org’s 2021 list of Best Companies for Women to Advance.
The companies on this year’s list have taken initiatives to keep women in the workforce, increase benefits that support working women, and promote gender equality. And they’re setting an example — 36% of the companies on the list have a female CEO.
PepsiCo is the only food company to make the list this year. The company was also featured in Parity.org’s first list in 2020 and has been separately acknowledged for its diversity efforts.
The 2021 list includes 34 small, medium, and large companies that have demonstrated their support of advancements for women in four key areas:
- Equality: Promoting policies and practices that create equal treatment and opportunities for both men and women.
- Inclusion: Creating a safe, positive workplace for women and people of color and operating with a zero-tolerance policy for harassment.
- Representation: Having a strong representation of women in leadership roles and making efforts to expand that representation.
- Enablers: Supporting the above areas with actions such as creating employee resource groups, conducting anti-bias training, and making public commitments to pay and gender parity.
For more insights into how these companies are creating a better workplace and greater opportunities for women, download the full report.
