Methodology

Basic Principle
The top 300 "Best Employers for Women" have been chosen based on an independent survey from a vast sample of 60,000 American employees working for firms or institutions with 1,000 or more employees (The sample included more than 40,000 women). The employees were not consulted via their employers but anonymously through several online panels. By doing so, the employee could openly state his/her opinion, avoiding any influence from their employer. The survey was conducted using an online access panel.

Selection of Employers
In an open-ended question with an autofill-option, each employee was asked which firm or institution he or she worked for. Where appropriate, subsidiaries of larger entities were combined for evaluation. The survey was conducted on companies from all industry sectors employing more than 1,000 employees in the United States.

The recommended employers have been classified into one or more of the 24 industry sectors listed below:

• Construction, Oil & Gas Operations, Mining and Chemicals
• Utilities
• Engineering, Manufacturing
• Automotive (Automotive and Suppliers)
• Aerospace & Defense
• Drugs & Biotechnology
• Semiconductors, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Technology Hardware & Equipment
• Health Care Equipment & Services
• Packaged Goods
• Food, Soft Beverages, Alcohol & Tobacco
• Transportation and Logistics
• Banking and Financial Services
• Insurance
• Telecommunications Services, Cable Supplier
• IT, Internet, Software & Services
• Professional Services
• Media & Advertising
• Business Services & Supplies
• Education
• Healthcare & Social
• Retail, Wholesale
• Clothing, Shoes, Sports Equipment (Manufacturing and Retail)
• Restaurants
• Travel & Leisure

Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation was based on four different criteria:

Direct recommendations – work topics in general: The employees were asked to give their opinion on a series of statements surrounding the topics concerning their own employer

    atmosphere & development
    image
    working conditions
    salary & wage
    workplace
    diversity

The rate of agreement/disagreement regarding the statements was measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Additionally the likelihood of recommending one’s own employer (measured on a 11-point Likert scale) was also asked. The score is based on recommendations from women. In addition a perception correction factor (based on the comparison between recommendations from women and men) was considered: to this end, we took all recommendations made by women and separated them from the recommendations made by men. The difference between men’s and women’s votes (=perception correction factor) was then added to women’s recommendations.

Direct recommendations – topics relevant for women in particular: To focus on topics which are in general more relevant for women, women were asked to rate their own employers regarding parental leave, family support, flexibility, discrimination, representation & career, pay equity (5-point Likert scale). The relevance of each topic (as well for the topics in general) was determined by a regression analysis.

Indirect recommendations: Additionally, participants were given the chance to evaluate other employers in their respective industries that stand out either positively or negatively with regard to diversity. Only the recommendations of women were considered.

Diversity among top executives / board: Based on extensive research, an index was built based on the share of women who fill top executive or board positions. Statista researched this data for each company using publicly available company information.

Calculation
A score was calculated for each criterion and the sum was consolidated into a final score for each employer on a scale from 0 to 100, ranking the employers accordingly.

The 300 highest-scoring companies were awarded "The Best Employers for Women"