WellPoint Named “Top 50 Company For Executive Women” By National Association For Female Executives

WellPoint, Inc, (NYSE: WLP) today was named one of the Top 50 Companies for Executive Women by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE). The NAFE Top Companies lead corporate America in recruiting, retaining and advancing women.

A newly released report conducted by the Working Mother Research Institute revealed that women hold nearly one in four positions at the Top Companies (23%), overseeing divisions with more than $1 billion in revenue. The report also finds that women hold 23% of all board of director seats at the Top Companies compared with 16% across the Fortune 500. In addition, 22% of executive officers at the NAFE Top Companies are women compared with 3.6% at the Fortune 500.

According to Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media and CEO, NAFE, “The NAFE Top 50 Companies are major employers that are committed to hiring, retaining and promoting executive women. They represent a cross-section of companies that go way beyond lip service in helping succeed. Almost seven out of 10 companies require their managers to receive training on how to hire, advance or manage women. Manager accountability is the main ingredient for success.”

WellPoint has achieved a reputation as an organization where professional women can lead successful careers and reach the highest levels of management. Lori Beer, executive vice president of WellPoint’s Enterprise Business Services, sees mentoring as a key factor in advancing women’s careers. “I’m a firm believer in sharing your experiences and knowledge with others,” said Ms. Beer. “We strive to maintain a work environment and a corporate culture that promote work-life balance and flexibility ― an essential component to fostering women’s advancement and success in our organization.”

In fact, almost half of the WellPoint’s senior managers are women, and one third of its corporate executives are women. The company’s initiatives to promote gender equality in the workplace include a robust succession planning program and an Executive Excellence accelerated executive leadership development program, of which approximately one third of participants are women. In addition, the Women of WellPoint (WOW) associate resource group focuses on identifying and removing barriers for the advancement of women within WellPoint. WOW has grown in membership dramatically in the past year, doubling in size to almost 600 women.

Linda Jimenez, Chief Diversity Officer & VP ― Diversity and Inclusion for WellPoint, affirms the company’s commitment helping women achieve success. “Through the efforts of programs such as WOW, WellPoint helps women succeed ― and thrive ― in today's corporate culture.”