For the seventh year in a row MetLife Inc. has been included in the NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women. And although MetLife may feel the most at home on the list due to its staying power, it was not the only insurance or financial services company that made the cut.
The National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) is a trade association serving some 20,000 members nationwide with networking tools and solutions. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media, which is owned by the Bonnier Corporation.
The application to be included on the list requires companies to answer over 250 questions on a range of topics from hiring and attrition to promotion rates and advancement programs. One aspect of the application process that is viewed as decisive to making the list is the number of women in the company at the upper echelon with profit-and-loss responsibility. A company must also have at least two women on their board of directors and a minimum of 500 employees in the U.S.
All told, eight insurance companies made the Top 50 list:
- Allstate Insurance
- The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
- Mass Mutual Financial Group
- MetLife
- The New York Life Insurance Company
- The Principal Financial Group
- Prudential Financial
- State Farm Insurance
Two of these, Prudential and State Farm, were highlighted as being “Top 10″ companies, whose conditions for women were among the best of the best.
In compiling its 2012 NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women awards, the NAFE noted that its “Top 50″ companies employ more than 3.6 million women among 16 industries at some 48,000 worksites worldwide. On average, women represent 53% of employees at NAFE Top 50 companies.