UNIVERSAL RANKED MOM-FRIENDLY.Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer UNIVERSAL CITY - Universal Studios Inc. earned a spot among Working Woman's 100 best companies for working mothers by accommodating flexible schedules, the magazine reported Tuesday. Universal was the only Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, company to make the magazine's 15th annual list, although firms with a strong presence in the region, including Aetna Inc., Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. , Prudential and Target Corp., were also recognized. Each year hundreds of companies apply for the coveted cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. distinction, which gauges a firm's commitment to child care, leave for new parents, advancement for woman and benefits, said editor-in-chief Lisa Benenson. ``These companies are all moving the bar up every year,'' Benenson said, adding that competition was particularly intense this year, with 21 new companies making the list, about double that seen in previous years. ``It's really a sign that more and more companies are finding it necessary to have these programs in place,'' she said. ``The economy is so hot now that if you don't have family friendly programs, your employees are going to leave.'' Universal was singled out for its efforts to make flex time more widely available and easier to arrange for its 14,940 employees. Universal officials said they had no one available to comment, and the person most familiar with these programs went out on maternity leave maternity leave n → baja por maternidad maternity leave maternity n → congé m de maternité maternity leave maternity n last week. The company, which is being bought by French water utility Vivendi, expanded its long-standing flex time plan by adding a ``tool kit'' to help employees and their managers more easily draw up the agreements. Also, women made up 35 percent of the company's top earners in 1999, up from 28 percent the year before. Only the top 10 companies on the list are ranked numerically. The complete list is posted online at www.workingwoman work·ing·wom·an n. A woman who works for wages. .com. Topping the list was Allstate Insurance Co., followed in order by Bank of America, Eli Lilly and Co., Fannie Mae Fannie Mae: see Federal National Mortgage Association. and IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) Corp. IBM has been on the list for the past 13 years. This year it pledged to spread its family friendly benefits to its employees who work outside the United States, Benenson said. For all the strides made by these and other companies, more needs to be done to help the nation's 26 million working mothers, she said. |
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