Marriottsville, MD , May 24, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bon Secours Health System has been named one of the 2016 “Best Companies for Multicultural Women” by Working Mother magazine—an honor which recognizes U.S. companies that create and use best practices in hiring, retaining and promoting women of color.
The Working Mother Research Institute has conducted the study since 2003, tracking corporations’ progress in promoting women of color and evaluating their representation at every level of management and decision-making.
“We are thrilled to be recognized again this year,” stated Gloria Goins, Bon Secours Health System’s chief diversity officer. Our strategic plan calls for Bon Secours to strengthen our culture and capabilities. We recognize that participation in cultural competency formation will enable us to recruit, hire, and cultivate the best people to continue serve those who are vulnerable.”
Subha V. Barry, VP, General Manager, Working Mother Media, says, “Now is the time for women and women of color to emerge. The progress that has been made among top earners this year—with the representation of multicultural women quadrupling—is astounding, and reflects that companies who put resources behind growing their multicultural talent will get a big return.”
Jennifer Owens, editorial director, Working Mother Media, states, “A key factor in helping women of color to advance is sponsorship. We are encouraged to see that more and more Best Companies—76 percent versus 68 percent a year ago—are committed to making sure multicultural woman have access to leaders who can help guide their careers.”
Key findings of the 2016 Working Mother report can be found on workingmother.com.
Highlights include:
Top Earners Progress
Multicultural women at the Best Companies represent 17% of the top fifth of earners, quadrupling their representation from last year’s 4%.
CEO Commitment
At 96% of the Best Companies, CEOs show their commitment to advancing multiculturalism by requiring a diversity executive to report back to him/her on diversity metrics. They meet regularly to review goals and performance and provide information on diversity to the board of directors.
Representation of Multicultural Women
The percentage of management positions held by multicultural women held steady from last year at the manager (14%), senior manager (8%) and corporate executive (4%) levels.
Board of Director Seats
Women hold 28% of the board of director seats at the Best Companies, the highest proportion attained in the initiative over the last 8 years. However, multicultural women hold only 6% of the seats, down two percentage points from last year.
Best Companies Workforce Composition
The 2016 Best Companies for Multicultural Women employ more than 2.5 million workers with 28,500 worksites across 50 states in the following 11 industries: Automotive; Consumer Products; Financial Services; Hospitality; Hospitals and Health Care; Insurance; Manufacturing; Professional Services, Management Consulting and Accounting; Retail and Apparel; Science, Technology, Engineering, Aerospace and Medical Devices; and Telecommunications. Multicultural women make up 21% of total employees at the Best Companies while multicultural men represent 18%.
Methodology
The Working Mother Best Companies for Multicultural Women application is only available to companies that have at least 500 U.S. employees. The winners were selected based on their answers to an extensive questionnaire covering representation; hiring, attrition, and promotion rates; recruitment, retention, advancement programs; and company culture. The Working Mother Research Institute created a scoring algorithm based on the previous year’s benchmark results to determine the winners.
About Working Mother
Working Mother Media (WMM), a division of Bonnier Corporation (bonnier.com), publishes Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com. The Working Mother Research Institute (workingmother.com/wmri), the National Association for Female Executives (nafe.com) and Diversity Best Practices (diversitybestpractices.com) are also units within WMM. WMM’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change. Working Mother magazine is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Working Mother PR Contact: Andrea Kaplan, andreakaplanpr@gmail.com, 917-836-2741
About Bon Secours Health System, Inc.
Bon Secours Health System, headquartered in Marriottsville, Maryland, a $3.5 billion not-for-profit Catholic health system, owns, manages, or joint ventures 19 acute-care hospitals, one psychiatric hospital, five nursing care facilities, four assisted living facilities, and several home care and hospice programs. Bon Secours’ more than 23,000 caregivers help people in ten communities in six states, primarily on the East Coast. For more information, visit the website at www.bshsi.org.
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