Minnesota Nearly Shut Out Of Fortune's Top 100 Workplaces For Women
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Fortune Magazine's annual list of the top 100 workplaces for women includes just one Minnesota company this year.
Golden Valley-based Allianz Life Insurance spared the state from being shut out, with a #97 ranking on Fortune's list. It beat out other Minnesota companies like 3M, General Mills and Target.
Conventional wisdom says if a company offers generous maternity leave and child care benefits, it must be a great workplace for women.
But the 2017 Fortune magazine list of the Top 100 Workplaces for Women says it's so much more than that. Remember, not all women employees are mothers or perhaps may never have children.
"Forty-two percent of our leadership are women and 50-percent of those reporting to our CEO are women," Chief Human Resources Officer for Allianz, Suzanne Zeller said.
That's one of the major reasons the Golden Valley-based Allianz was the only Minnesota company to makes Fortune's 2017 list.
Human Resources chief officer Suzanne Zeller says it starts with the company's culture.
"Women see that and say, 'OK, this is a company that recognizes my talents and a place I can go up the ladder, which is great,'" Zeller said.
But it's much more than simply accommodating working mothers and dads, although that remains very important.
"Family and work-life balance are definitely priorities here," Zeller said.
According to the Fortune survey, women told the magazine that being treated as equal members of the team, supporting ongoing education and professional development, and company profit sharing are equally important factors in a good workplace culture.
And to encourage building bonds among professional women, Allianz encourages networking and mentoring in through the company's GROW program.
Zeller says the company's high retention rate is a reflection of listening to what matters most to employees.
"You also must provide constant recognition, an opportunity to give back to the community and a place where they can grow and develop their careers," Zeller said.
To the more than 1,800 Minnesota employees, it's been a successful formula for both women and men.
Fortune's latest recognition of Allianz is part of a larger pattern. The company has been among Fortune's top 100 companies for six straight years.