100 Best Continue to Improve while Nationwide Standards Sag
New York, NY, September 22, 2009 - Defying expectations in this time of economic stress, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc (Ticker: GS) has been named among the 2009 Working Mother 100 Best Companies for its unwavering dedication to family-friendly benefits. Goldman Sachs and the other winning companies lead the way in pioneering programs that support families, with 100 percent offering flextime, on-site lactation and telecommuting; and 98 percent offering job-sharing and wellness programs—numbers that dwarf those seen nationwide. In addition, financial programs available to the 100 Best employees are on the rise, a much needed boost for families in today’s economy. These include tuition reimbursement, retirement planning and pre-tax FSAs for childcare.
By contrast, national numbers* are dismal, with just 25 percent of companies offering on-site lactation (vs. 100 percent of the 100 Best), 11 percent with stress reduction programs (vs. 96 percent of the 100 Best), 35 percent offering health insurance for part-timers (vs. 99 percent of the 100 Best) and 16 percent offering job-sharing (vs. 98 percent of the 100 Best).
“The Working Mother 100 Best Companies stand head and shoulders above the rest,” said Carol Evans, CEO, Working Mother Media. “For example, in the last year, we saw the number of companies nationwide offering flexible work arrangements diminish five percentage points, while the 100 Best Companies stayed steady at 100 percent. The 100 Best provide leadership where and when we need it most, furnishing a framework of support for working families during good times and bad. If all companies adopted these best practices, more families could weather the economic storm.”
Profiles of the 100 Best Companies, as well as national comparisons, are in the October issue of Working Mother and at workingmother.com.
“Moms are increasingly becoming the sole breadwinners in many households as men lose their jobs at a higher rate than women,” said Suzanne Riss, Editor in Chief, Working Mother magazine. “Now more than ever, our readers and all working mothers need the support of their employers. By offering benefits like paid maternity leave, the ability to work from home and wellness programs, as well as programs that enhance financial well-being, our 100 Best are helping to reduce stress in the busy lives of working moms. These companies epitomize family-friendly support at its best.”
Even in tough economic times, the Working Mother 100 Best Companies employ creative programs that adeptly help employees in all areas of their lives. In 2007, Goldman Sachs developed the idea of a program that could assist women in their desire to return to the workforce. This lead to the launch in 2008 of a program called ReturnshipSM, an initiative that came out of the firm’s New Directions on-ramping program. This eight-week internship like program was designed for women who were looking to re-enter the workforce after off-ramping an extended period of time. Despite the down economy, Goldman Sachs was able to hire 50% of the participants for positions in various divisions of the firm.
Now in its 24th year, the Working Mother 100 Best Companies program draws attention to the significant contributions working mothers make to industries and the companies that recognize the importance of tapping this essential labor pool. “We have faith that some day the programs found at the 100 Best Companies will become business norms offered by all companies,” said Evans. “When the economy recovers, lagging companies will lose out on a powerful group of dedicated employees—working moms.”
Methodology:
Companies were selected for the 2009 Working Mother 100 Best Companies based on an extensive application with more than 500 questions on workforce, compensation, child care, flexibility programs, leave policies and more. It also surveys the usage, availability and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them. Seven areas were measured and scored: workforce profile, benefits, women’s issues and advancement, child care, flexible work, parental leave and company culture. For this year’s 100 Best, particular weight was given to benefits, flexibility and parental leave.
About The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities and investment management services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.
About Working Mother Media
Celebrating 30 years, Working Mother magazine reaches 2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers while workingmother.com brings to the Web a broad range of insight and solutions served to working mothers every day. Working Mother’s 24-year signature research initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, is the most important benchmark for work-life practices in corporate America. With offices in New York and Washington, D.C., Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corp., includes the National Association for Female Executives, Diversity Best Practices, the WorkLife Congress and the Multicultural Women’s Conference and Town Halls. Working Mother Media’s mission is to champion cultural change.
*National statistics are taken from a recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management.
Contacts:
Gia Morón, Goldman Sachs
212.902.4307, gia.moron@gs.com
Working Mother
Julia Monti, The Rosen Group
646.695.7044, Julia@rosengrouppr.com
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