Grant Thornton LLP named to the National Association for Female Executives 2010 Top 50 list
CHICAGO, March 3, 2010 –Grant Thornton LLP has been named to the NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), recognizing Grant Thornton’s policies and practices that encourage women’s advancement and numbers at the highest levels of leadership that demonstrate that commitment.
NAFE’s list serves as an annual benchmark for Corporate America. The number of women responsible for running operations (profit-and-loss, or P&L positions) at the NAFE Top Companies has reached 26 percent, significantly more than the 11 percent at Fortune 500 companies.
Each year NAFE conducts a survey to evaluate companies on all aspect of women’s advancement, including succession planning, profit-and-loss roles, gender pay parity, support programs, work-life balance programs and others. Since inception, the NAFE Top 50 was open only to public companies. For 2010, the list was opened to private companies.
“We are proud of the progress we’ve made at Grant Thornton to advance women within the firm and of our continuing efforts to improve gender diversity and create an inclusive environment for all our people,” said Jacqueline Akerblom, Grant Thornton LLP’s national managing partner of Women’s Initiatives and Programs. “It’s an honor to be recognized as a leader among all the companies doing work in this area by such a prestigious organization.”
A gala awards luncheon will be held in New York City on March 25, 2010, where Akerblom will accept the 2010 award on behalf of the firm. Prior to the luncheon, Akerblom will participate in a roundtable with senior women executives from other NAFE Top Companies to discuss critical business issues, including how to ensure an increase in women-run operations.
The firm will be featured in the NAFE magazine’s spring 2010 issue and on www.nafe.com.
Methodology: In addition to assessing corporate programs and policies dedicated to advancing women, NAFE measured results, examining the number of women in each company overall, in senior management, and on its board of directors. They drew particular attention to the number of women with profit-and-loss responsibility. To be named to the NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women, companies with a minimum of two women on the board completed a comprehensive application that focused on the number of women in senior ranks (compared to men and to the company population), including questions about the programs and policies which support women's advancement.
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About Grant Thornton LLP
The people in the independent firms of Grant Thornton International Ltd provide personalized attention and the highest quality service to public and private clients in more than 100 countries. Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations. Grant Thornton International Ltd and its member firms are not a worldwide partnership, as each member firm is a separate and distinct legal entity.
In the U.S., visit Grant Thornton LLP at www.GrantThornton.com.
About NAFE
The National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), founded in 1972, serves 20,000 members nationwide with networking, tools and solutions to strengthen and grow their careers and businesses. NAFE magazine publishes the annual Top Companies issue and the annual Women of Excellence issue. NAFE.com provides up-to-date information, community for women in business and access to member benefits. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media and Bonnier Corporation.
