Diageo North America Honored As Top Company For Executive Women

NORWALK, Conn., Feb. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Diageo, the world's leading spirits, beer and wine company, has been named by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) as one of their 2014 "Top Companies for Executive Women." This award honors American corporations that identify, promote and nurture successful women. One of the country's largest associations for women professionals and business owners, NAFE releases the list annually. This is the third time NAFE has selected Diageo for the Top 50 list.

"We believe in the value that diversity brings to our business and to each other. Diversity is in every one of our employees and our goal is to help realize each employee's potential for great performance and a rewarding career," said Eliana Zem, Senior Vice President Human Resources, Diageo North America. "At Diageo, career management is for everyone and not a select few, and so is the need for balance between life at and outside of work. We aspire to make Diageo a place where our employees would want their friends and families to work."  

Diageo offers a variety of flexible working arrangements including job share, flextime, compressed hours and opportunities to work from home. The company subsidizes back-up daycare and adult/elder care, matches employees' flexible spending accounts for dependent care and reimburses a percentage of the cost for in vitro and fertility treatments. Pregnant women and new moms can take advantage of nutritional education, smoking cessation programs and access to private pumping rooms for nursing mothers.  Programs for employees with tweens/teens include college preparation and placement assistance as well as counseling for substance abuse, emotional support and families. Many office locations offer on-site timesaving services such as a health club and dry cleaning drop-off/pickup, and all employees have access to a concierge service. Employees are granted up to five days per year of paid time off to volunteer, which can be used to be active in their children's schools or elsewhere in the community. The company also supports new ideas from employees, particularly parents and mothers who face unique challenges. 

To build up a future leader pipeline, Diageo offers early career programs to attract and hire a diverse workforce and provides coaching initiatives to help employees succeed in their careers. Diageo's Spirited Women's Network employee resource group supplements these efforts by hosting regular networking receptions and career talks by female Diageo executives to inspire others and encourage diversity of thought in the company.

Carol Evans, CEO of NAFE and president of Working Mother Media, said, "The NAFE Top Companies offer environments where women have significant clout and make the decisions that affect their company's future and its bottom line. Their female top executives lead businesses, set policy and have profit-and-loss responsibility."

NAFE's Top 50 Companies for Executive Women are judged on answers to more than 200 questions regarding female representation at all levels, especially the corporate officer and profit-and-loss leadership ranks. The application tracks how many employees have access to, and usage of, programs and policies that promote the advancement of women, and how many employees take advantage of those programs and policies. The application also focuses on how companies train managers to help women advance, and how those managers are held accountable for the advancement of female employees they oversee.

The Top 50 Companies for Executive Women are profiled at www.workingmother.com.

About Diageo
Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Windsor, Buchanan's and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray, Guinness, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards Wines.

Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

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SOURCE Diageo