By providing inclusive benefits for families, including gender-neutral parental leave, gradual phase-back and flexible-hours programs for new parents, as well as accessible, affordable child care, here’s how the nine New Jersey companies that made the 2019 Working Mother 100 Best Companies list stack up:
ADP, a human resource outsourcing firm headquartered in Roseland, employs more than 32,000:
- ADP gives U.S. employees who work 20 or more hours per week 10 subsidized backup-care days per year, including center- or home-based care for children and adult family members.
- The company provides a minimum of six weeks of fully paid maternity leave, plus four weeks of fully paid gender-neutral leave.
- Nearly 57% of ADP’s total workforce are women, including 35% of its top 10% of earners. Additionally, 52% of management promotions go to women.
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the health insurance company headquartered in Newark, employs more than 5,500:
- Because education at any age matters, all HBCBSNJ employees now receive discounts on books and tuition costs from educational institutions throughout the country.
- The company provides a minimum of six weeks of fully paid maternity leave, as well as phase-back and/or reduced-hour programs for new mothers returning to work and back-up childcare options.
- More than 40% of HBCBSNJ’s workforce is comprised of multicultural women.
Johnson & Johnson, the health care and consumer products company headquartered in New Brunswick, employs more than 42,500:
- Having been named to the list for more than 25 years, Johnson & Johnson, ranked a Top 10 company on the list overall, ranked Top 3 for benefits, including on-site child care centers that on average serve nearly 600 children per month. Additionally, the company provides discounted rates to its employees for child care centers and backup dependent care.
- The company provides a minimum of six weeks of fully paid maternity leave, plus eight weeks of fully paid gender-neutral leave. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson provides phase-back and/or reduced-hour programs for new mothers returning to work.
- Nearly 45% of Johnson & Johnson’s total workforce are women, including 40% of its top 20% of earners.
Merck, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Kenilworth, employs more than 24,000:
- Also named to the list for more than 25 years, Merck provides reimbursement of up to $25,000 per child for eligible adoption and surrogacy-related expenses.
- The company provides a minimum of 12 weeks of fully paid maternity leave.
- More than 50% of Merck’s total workforce are women, including 42% of its top 20% of earners.
Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Plainsboro, employs more than 4,000:
- Ambre Morley, senior director of commercial business unit portfolio communications, said Novo Nordisk has been instrumental in helping her further her career as a single mother of a 13-year-old son. “I’ve had two international assignments, including one in Tokyo this past summer where my mother and son joined me,” she said.
- Novo Nordisk offers its employees 24/7 backup care for both well and sick children from specialists at centers and home care agencies.
- The company provides a minimum of six weeks of fully paid maternity leave, plus phase-back and/or reduced-hour programs for new mothers returning to work.
Prudential Financial, the financial services company headquartered in Newark, employs more than 18,000:
- Also named to the list for more than 25 years, Prudential enables new parents to take an additional 16 weeks of job-guaranteed unpaid parental leave, even over several noncontinuous periods. The company also offers backup child care options for both well and sick children.
- The company, combined with short-term disability benefits, provides a minimum of 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, while new adoptive parents and new fathers get 10 weeks of fully paid leave.
- More than 53% of Prudential Financial’s total workforce are women, including 37% of its top 20% of earners.
Sanofi U.S., a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bridgewater, employs more than 12,500:
- Wendy Michelle Richard, lead for public affairs and patient advocacy immunology at Sanofi U.S., lives in Houston with her 12-year-old daughter and her 10-year-old son. “(We need to) integrate our children and families into our jobs as much as we are able,” she said. “Talk to them about our work and why it matters; discuss how it makes a difference in the lives of people fighting diseases; this helps my children understand that Mom’s work is meaningful.”
- The company provides a minimum of six weeks of fully paid maternity leave, plus eight weeks paid parental leave. The company also offers two weeks of paid family and military caregiver leave.
- Nearly 50% of Sanofi’s total workforce are women, including 42% of its top 20% of earners. Furthermore, 44% of its board members are women.
Unilever, the consumer products company headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, employs nearly 8,000:
- Unilever, ranked a Top 10 company on the list overall, ranked Top 3 for benefits, including comprehensive and holistic preventative-care medical exams for employees and their families.
- The company provides a minimum of eight weeks of fully paid maternity leave, plus eight weeks of fully paid gender-neutral leave.
- Nearly 44% of Unilever’s total workforce are women, including 45% of its top 20% of earners. Furthermore, 35% of its board members are women.
Zoetis, an animal health company headquartered in Parsippany, employs more than 4,500:
- Zoetis has partnered with Virtual Doctor benefits to provide its U.S. employees and their families on-demand mobile access to board-certified doctors.
- The company provides a minimum of nine weeks of fully paid maternity leave, plus at least one week of fully paid gender-neutral leave. Zoetis also offers phase-back and/or reduced-hour programs for new mothers returning to work and backup childcare options for both sick and well children.
- Nearly 42% of Zoetis’ total workforce are women, including 44% of corporate executives.
Though BASF Corp., a German chemicals company with U.S. headquarters in Florham Park, made the list last year for the first time, it was not included on this year’s list.
However, several New York companies with presences in New Jersey made the list, including L’Oreal USA, Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Verizon, Barclays, Edelman, Dow Jones, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Colgate-Palmolive, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife and PwC.
Horizon, J&J, Merck, Prudential and Unilever also made Working Mother’s Best Companies for Multicultural Women list, the National Association for Female Executives’ Top Companies for Executive Women list, and the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index.
ADP joined them as a Best Company for Multicultural Women, as well as placing alongside Sanofi U.S. and Zoetis on the National Association for Female Executives’ Top Companies for Executive Women list. Additionally, Sanofi U.S. was named to the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index.
The 2019 Working Mother 100 Best Companies application includes more than 400 questions on leave policies, workforce representation, benefits, child care, advancement programs, flexibility policies and more. It surveys not only the availability but also the usage of these programs, as well as the accountability of the managers who oversee them.
The online application for the 2020 Working Mother 100 Best Companies will be available in December and is due in March. Register at workingmother.com/surveys.
