Best companies for working moms (and dads)

Wondering which company is the best for you, working mom?
Working Mother magazine released its 2011 list of the 100 Best Companies. The publication says the list includes companies that offer the best paid parental leave, backup child care and family-friendly benefits, among other incentives for employed moms (and dads).

Keep clicking to find the companies that made the list and the kinds of the incentives they offer.

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Accenture, a New York City-based management consulting, technology and outsourcing company, offers back-up childcare and an average of eight weeks of fully paid maternity leave.

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Located in Abbott Park, Ill., Abbott, the healthcare company, employs 34,062 people, 49 percent of them women. Among other remarks about the company, Working Mother noted that it offers women an average of two weeks of fully-paid maternity leave.

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Based in Columbus, Ohio, this utility company allows new moms to "phase back" into work with reduced hours and back-up childcare, among other incentives.

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Did you know the American Express workforce is comprised of 64 percent women? The New York, N.Y.-based company, according to Working Mother, offers 10 weeks of fully-paid maternity leave. The company also has 44 percent female managers and executives.

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Chicago-based Aon is a global risk management, insurance and human resources consulting firm. The company hired 55 percent women in 2010, according to Working Mother. The company also offers back-up childcare and an average of seven weeks of fully-paid maternity leave.

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AOL, based in New York, N.Y., offers working parents plenty of incentives, including backup childcare and the opportunity to "phase back" into work with reduced hours.

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This Wilmington, Del., pharmaceutical firm hired 50 percent women in 2010, according to Working Mother. Also, 48 percent of the company's managers and executives are women.

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Sixty percernt of this Charlotte, N.C., company's 248,074 employees are female. The company offers an average of 12 weeks of fully-paid maternity leave. Women comprise 47 percent of this company's executives and managers, according to Working Mother.

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This Pittsburgh health-care, materials and nutritional-products company offers an average of six weeks of fully-paid maternity leave. Women comprise 29 percent of the company's top earners.

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Of Capital One Financial's 26,765 employees, 62 percent are women, according to Working Mother. This McLean, Va.-based company offers back-up childcare and the opportunity to "phase back" into work with reduced hours.

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According to Working Mother, "Employees rave about the casual, collegial atmosphere at this international travel and hospitality company, which throws family picnics for its workers, promotes local volunteering during work hours and supports alternative work arrangements. Many moms build decades-long careers here, and their ranks are swelling at the top: Women held 46 percent of positions at the director level and above last year, including 37 percent over the level of vice president."

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According to Working Mother, New York-based Citi has special offers: Quitting cigarettes, signing up for health coaching or taking risk assessments earns Citi moms up to $500 off their annual health insurance premiums.

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This San Jose, Calif., information technology and networking company, according to Working Mother, "plays host to 800 kids at two on-site day-care facilities (both at headquarters). Parents can utilize a wide variety of area child-care centers, call a resource and referral service to track down sick care, or access up to 20 days of subsidized backup care annually."

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New York-based Credit Suisse, a financial services firm, offers the benefit of 20 days of free backup care per dependent annually. According to Working Mother, "In 2010, this offering made it possible for nearly 500 children to take advantage of their local day-care facilities, but if parents need to make more regular arrangements, or find help for kids with special needs, they can contact the firm

New York-based Colgate-Palmolive, on average, offers nine weeks of fully,paid maternity leave. According to Working Mother, "Anyone who works 17-1/2 hours per week merits health insurance, which includes unlimited coverage for in vitro and other fertility treatments. Expectant mothers can take two fully paid weeks off before giving birth, then spend another 21 weeks at home with their babies, earning partial pay."

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Employees of this information technology and services company, based in Round Rock, Texas, have an average of five weeks paid maternity leave, as well as what Working Mother calls "solid benefits." The company also offers on-site fitness centers to help keep families in shape, as well as local gym discounts. The company also holds 1k and 5k runs.

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New York-based Deloitte, a professional services firm, offers its employees an average of 14 weeks paid maternity leave. The company's Remote Employee Network provides a sense of community to employees, such as moms, who engage in telecommuting.

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Deutsche Bank offers an average 18 weeks of fully-paid maternity leave to its employees. Working Mother adds, "New mothers are thankful for the firm

Discovery Communications, based in Silver Spring, Md., offers back-up child care and an average of nine weeks of fully paid maternity leave.

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Among other incentives, according to Working Mother, Dow Corning

According to Working Mother, at Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont, women who give birth or adopt may take six job-guaranteed months off from work to spend with their kids before they have to return.

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At Rockland, Mass.-based EMD Serono, a bio-pharmaceutical company, back-up childcare is offered. Among the company's top earners, 38 percent are women.

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Ernst & Young parents who adopt a child with special needs are eligible for a $6,000 reimbursement as compared to $5,000 for other adoptions, according to Working Mother.

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Memphis-based financial services company First Horizon National has a workforce that's comprised of 55 percent female managers and executives.

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Based in San Francisco, Genentech offers 10 weeks of fully-paid maternity leave and back-up child care.

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General Electric, based in Fairfield, Conn., offers many teaching programs. According to Working Mother, "Educating employees in 1,061 locations is no easy feat, but this infrastructure, finance and media company has its bases covered. Moms attend its business school; participate in multi-year career programs in engineering, human resources, sales and other areas; and tap up to $5,000 in annual tuition aid."

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Minneapolis, Minn.-based General Mills, according to Working Mother, helps employees make time for family by promoting flexible schedules, grants 26 job-guaranteed weeks off for a birth or adoption (with $10,000 in adoption aid), and allows employees to take three weeks of vacation in their first year.

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Goldman Sachs, based in New York City, offers couples who get married or register a domestic partnership an extra week of paid vacation.

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Grant Thornton, a professional services firm, offers an average of eight weeks of fully-paid maternity leave. Also, according to Working Mother, "Women earned 32 percent of all promotions to partner in 2010 (their biggest victory ever) and now fill nearly triple the number of slots they did seven years ago."

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Among Hallmark Cards' new hires in 2010, 88 percent were women.

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Based in Palo Alto, Calif., HP offers an average six weeks of fully-paid maternity leave and allows new moms to "phase back" into work with reduced hours.

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At tech-giant IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., according to Working Mother, "Parents who don

At Johnson & Johnson, women comprise 46 percent of the manager and executive positions. In addition, the New Brunswick, N.J. company offers fitness centers, and on-site health coaches assist employees in losing weight, eating better and quitting smoking.

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Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., allows new moms to "phase back" into work with reduced hours and offers back-up child care, according to Working Mother's 100 Best Companies list.

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KPMG, a professional services firm, was recognized by Working Mother for, among other things, its time-off incentives. Employees get 20-to-30 paid days off per year, plus eight to 11 paid holidays.

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At New York-based financial services firm JP Morgan Chase, all primary caregivers may take 12 fully-paid weeks off after the birth or adoption of a child.

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Kraft Foods, based in Northfield, Ill., offers gyms for its employees, as well as fitness classes. In addition, Working Mother points out, "Nearly all workers telecommute when their schedules allow, and many compress their weeks, job-share or flex their days around the core hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m."

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LEGO Systems, based in Enfield, Conn., offers moms up to 90 days off for personal reasons -- and they still retain full benefits, according to Working Mother.

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Eighty-five percent of March of Dimes Foundation's 1,185 employees are female, and 68 percent of the organization's top earners are women.

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Based in Bethesda, Md., Marriott International recently made a switch to accommodate its employees, according to Working Mother, which notes, "While there had historically been a 30-hour-per-week minimum requirement to earn healthcare, through 2010, full-time hourly associates were still allowed to retain their insurance if they ended up working less often than that."

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MassMutual Financial Group, an insurance firm based in Springfield, Mass., offers back-up childcare. Among the company's top earners, 32 percent are women.

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MasterCard Worldwide, based in Purchase, N.Y., offers an average eight weeks of fully-paid maternity leave. Also, Working Mother notes, "The company

The McGraw-Hill Companies, an information services provider based in New York, offers an average seven weeks of fully-paid maternity leave and, to make more time for personal activities, 92 percent of all workers informally use flex schedules, according to Working Mother.

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Merck, a Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based pharmaceutical company, is increasingly placing women in its top positions, with 41 percent of its managers and executives being female.

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New York-based MetLife, an insurance, employee benefits and financial services provider, offers employees each year up to 20 days of babysitting at affiliated child-care centers. Families pay just $20 per child (or $30 per family) per day.

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According to Working Mother, at New York-based MTV Networks, women earn nearly half of the company

Morgan Stanley, based in New York, offers an average 16 weeks of fully-paid maternity leave. New moms coming back to work are also given the opportunity to "phase-back" with reduced hours.

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At the National Education Association, a Washington, D.C. labor organization, all new parents receive at least six fully-paid weeks off, and many flex their hours or telecommute to spend more time at home.

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At New York Life, a New York-based company, Working Mother notes, "New birth, adoptive and surrogate moms may take up to four fully-paid weeks off to welcome a child; dads and domestic partners who are secondary caregivers get one paid week."

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To help its employees with eldercare responsibilities, Northern Trust, a financial services firm based in Chicago, covers in-home geriatric assessments, up to $500 per employee.

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Patagonia, based in Ventura, Calif., will contribute the equivalent of five percent of an employee

At Pearson, based in Upper Saddle River, N.J., Working Mother notes, moms who yearn to go back to college for art courses, journalism degrees or MBAs can follow their bliss with this media company

Pfizer, a health care company based in New York, offers on average 15 weeks of fully-paid maternity leave.

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The Principal Financial Group, based in Des Moines, Iowa, offers 81 percent of its employees the ability to work from home or telecommute as needed.

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Pittsburgh, Pa. financial services company PNC Financial Services Group offers health insurance to all, regardless of hours worked. Working Mother notes the company also sports a new wellness program that offers gym discounts, biometric screenings, a smoking-cessation program and health coaching.

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Prudential Financial, based in Newark, N.J., has more than 3,000 U.S. backup care centers that provide subsidized babysitting.

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Parents at SC Johnson, based in Racine, Wis., receive up to $50 to cover their childcare needs every time they go on overnight work trips (with a maximum of $500 annually).

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PWC, a New York-based audit, tax and advisory services firm, allows new moms returning from an extended leave to opt out of their next annual performance review.

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Dallas-based Texas Instruments offers employees and their families free access to art museums, the zoo and concerts, among other incentives.

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On their 100 Best Companies list, Working Mother notes the college-bound kids of Bristol-Myers Squibb employees are eligible for scholarships that average $2,000 per year.

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At TIAA-CREF, a financial services organization based in New York, women can take four job-guaranteed months off to have a baby, with two months fully-paid; those who adopt get two fully-paid weeks off, with $5,000 in aid. Working Mother points out parents may request priority access or discounts at 75 childcare facilities nationwide and can use in-home and center-based backup care. Moms earn a minimum of 20 paid days off annually, plus ten holidays and at least two floating holidays.

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Turner Broadcasting, based in Atlanta, recently increased its maternity and adoption leave to 10 fully-paid weeks from eight.

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University at Buffalo employees are given 28 weeks of job-guaranteed time off if they give birth, father a child or adopt.

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According to Working Mother's 100 Best Companies list, in 2010, 35 percent of Verizon

At Wellpoint, an Indianapolis, Ind.-based health-benefits company, mothers get six weeks off at 75 percent pay after the birth of a child and can access breastfeeding consultants, discounted breast pumps and 60 on-site lactation rooms or stations through its nursing mothers support initiative.

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Yale University, in New Haven, Conn., offers employees up to $5,250 in annual tuition aid and discounted on-site courses to mentoring and a learning center with 469 classes in management, technology and career development.

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Also named on the Working Mother 100 Best Company list: Arnold and Porter, Bain and Co., Baptist Health South Florida, BDO USA, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Bon Secours Richmond Health System, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bronson Healthcare Group, Children