Ernst & Young LLP marks ninth straight year among the top 10 on Working Mother Best Companies list

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Sep 16, 2014, 05:00 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP continues its strong track record of inclusion on Working Mother's annual Working Mother 100 Best Companies list, ranking in the top 10 for the ninth consecutive year and appearing on the list for the 18^th time. The firm's history of providing generous and continuous support for its people with caregiving responsibilities, coupled with its commitment to establishing new offerings, innovations and insights to benefit them, make its flexible and inclusive culture stand out in the market.

"For decades, we have been devoted to building a great people culture," said Steve Howe, the EY Americas Managing Partner and the Managing Partner of Ernst & Young LLP (US). "We believe this strong record of recognition results from our sustained and expanded focus on diversity and inclusiveness, flexibility for all, open communication and a desire to see our people thrive professionally and personally. Families succeed when teams at work and teams at home make it possible for individuals to reach their full potential."

The Working Mother 100 Best Companies list honors businesses for outstanding leadership in establishing policies, programs and corporate culture that supports working moms, including child care, flexible work arrangements, paid parental leave and advancement of women. Businesses are also measured on access to and usage of family friendly programs. The list is available in the magazine and online here.

On Oct. 15, 2014, Ernst & Young LLP will be honored among the 2014 Working Mother 100 Best Companies at the Gala Awards Dinner in New York City, where the firm's 2014 Working Mother of the Year Lysa Sanchez, Principal, Ernst & Young LLP, will also be recognized. This signature event is preceded by the 2014 Work Life Congress from Oct. 13-15, where Maryella Gockel, EY Flexibility Leader, and Mike Syers, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP, will serve as speakers. They will address the latest Working Mother Research Institute study titled "How Men Flex." This new research on men and flexibility, sponsored by Ernst & Young LLP, will launch for the first time in mid-October.

Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media, said, "Ernst & Young LLP has landed on Working Mother's 100 Best Companies list for the 18^th consecutive year and is also a 'Top 10' winner. We are proud of the firm's commitment to creating an exemplary work-life culture, extended beyond those raising children, to professionals caring for elderly relatives or children with special needs."

Karyn Twaronite, EY Global Diversity & Inclusiveness Officer, added: "At EY, high-performance teams enable our success. Our teams perform so well together because they are open and candid about their need for flexibility — which is viewed as a motivator for all, not solely a privilege limited to parents. We know this holistic approach to flexibility further empowers caregivers to fully utilize the many offerings available to them. We also believe it has driven our latest internal Global People Survey results finding that our US people with caregiving responsibilities have the highest level of engagement among all of our people."

Historical support and innovation benefit caregivers

Over the years, Ernst & Young LLP has established ongoing ways of helping its people confidently manage the coexistence of work and caregiving. Examples include:

Giving new parents time off: The firm's fully-paid parental leave package provides14 weeks off for birth moms, six weeks off for primary care dads and primary care adoptive parents, and two weeks off for all dads and adoptive parents. Ernst & Young LLP also offers four additional weeks off beyond the 12 weeks the Family and Medical Leave Act requires. Between 500 and 600 plus men at the firm take parental leaves each year, which is roughly consistent with the number of women who take parental leaves annually.
Providing care options: Ernst & Young LLP people have access to Lifecare, Care.com and Bright Horizons to find care for their kids and other family members — even their pets. The firm reimburses up to $400 in back-up care expenses.
Offering networks: Professional Networks provide opportunities for people of similar backgrounds to network internally and externally, create informal mentoring relationships, and strengthen leadership skills. For example, the Today's Families Networks for people with family responsibilities bring together parents and other family caregivers to provide encouragement and solutions to help people navigate career and family commitments.
Developing all professionals: The firm is working to enhance its culture of equitable sponsorship so that all of its people have equal access to stretch assignments, feedback and relationships. Programs such as Career Mentors and Sponsors, Global NextGen, Leadership Matters and the Inclusiveness Leadership Program help professionals earn sponsorship, develop their executive presence and hone their inclusive leadership skills.

Additionally, there are new and updated examples of the firm's support for caregivers, which recognize that families — and the challenges they face — are different and constantly evolving.

Embracing diverse family needs: The firm just launched a new internal guidebook titled, "Single parents: on your own, not alone" to provide tips for single parents and those who work with them. It shares stories, common dilemmas and ideas to help single parents navigate some of the specific challenges that they face.
Contributing to thought leadership: EY and its member firms reach beyond their own walls to help inform progressive family-friendly initiatives. Recent examples include the global EY organization sponsoring The White House Summit on Working Families. Mark Weinberger, EY Global Chairman & CEO, spoke during the first "Family Matters" plenary session about the importance of workplace flexibility. Additionally, Ernst & Young LLP sponsored new Boston College Center for Work & Family research exploring dads' views on paternity leave, and corporate and country policies and programs.
Easing transitions: EY's Career and Family Transitions Coaching program continues to expand to support parents as they welcome a new child through birth or adoption. Through individual and group sessions, internal coaches help parents plan for transition needs and set realistic goals and expectations before, during and after parental leave. They also advise participants' internal counselors about how best to support EY people during this critical time. Coaches work with about 400 parents — and a quarter of them are dads.
Helping nursing moms: Now in its seventh year, Ernst & Young LLP's lactation program has expanded to provide nursing moms with prenatal breastfeeding webinars, a free hospital-grade breast pump and travel kit, pre- and post-natal counseling sessions, and help establishing pumping and feeding schedules. This includes the firm's professionals and their spouses or domestic partners.
Offering flexibility with predictability: Select groups have rolled out an approach to predictable time off called Team FIT. Teams are encouraged to set designated, predictable and uninterrupted periods of time off for all of their team members. With Team FIT, each team member gets designated time when they are not expected — or permitted — to respond to emails, voicemails, texts or other communications.

For more information about diversity and inclusiveness initiatives at Ernst & Young LLP, visit www.ey.com/US/inclusiveness.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member of the global EY organization that provides services to clients in the US.

About Working Mother Media
Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation (bonnier.com), is the publisher of Working Mother magazine and its companion website workingmother.com, and is home to the Working Mother Research Institute. The National Association for Female Executives (nafe.com ) and Diversity Best Practices (diversitybestpractices.com) are also units within WMM. Working Mother Media'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.