Five Georgia-based companies have been recognized among the top 100 in America's "Best Employers For Women," Forbes' second annual ranking dedicated to equalizing corporate cultures and empowering women.
For the ranking, Forbes analysts partnered with researchers at Statista to identify the top American companies for women based on 60,000 survey respondents, including 40,000 women, all of whom work for businesses with at least 1,000 employees. They were asked to anonymously rate their organizations on various criteria, including working conditions, diversity, likelihood of recommending their employer to others, parental leave, discrimination and pay equity.
» RELATED: Survey finds nearly half of men believe the pay gap is 'made up'
"These responses were reviewed for potential gender gaps. So if women, for example, rated an organization poorly on diversity, but men rated it highly, Statista would take that into account and adjust the company's score accordingly," Forbes reported.
Respondents were also asked to nominate organizations in outside industries.
Of the 300 employers with at least 1,000 employees on the final list, New York-based Estée Lauder Companies earned top honors, up 21 spots from last year's inaugural ranking.
The skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care company employs 46,000 American workers and 84% of its workforce, 53% of its vice president-and-above executives and 43% of its board of directors are women.
“We were founded by a woman—this is just a natural part of our DNA,” said Alexandra Trower, executive vice president of global communications at The Estée Lauder Companies. “One of the benefits of being at a family company is family values underpin everything we do . . . [which] brings a sense of accountability and doing the right thing to a really different level.”
» RELATED: Record wage gap between teachers and other college grads
Gwinnett County Public Schools ranked the best employer for women in Georgia — and No. 19 in the country. It ranked 10th last year. Forbes also named the district the No. 178 best employer overall in 2018.
The Suwanee-based school system employs approximately 22,000 people, 78% of whom are women. GCPS has also recently worked to empower its young women through its partnership with the Atlanta Falcons and the Arthur Blank Foundation to launch the state's first flag football league for female students in a Georgia district, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Atlanta’s Coca-Cola came in at No. 28 on the list, followed by Emory University (No. 41), SunTrust Bank (No. 57) and baby clothing retailer Carter’s (No. 100), which is headquartered in Braselton.
Other Georgia employers on the list of 300 at forbes.com.
Financial institution OmegaFi and Atlanta-based Insight Global have previously been recognized among the nation’s 50 best large or small/midsize companies for women, based on a Comparably ranking of anonymous employee sentiment ratings.
Known for its new mom benefits, Atlanta law firm Alston and Bird also earned a shout-out in AJC's 2017 roundup of companies with cool and unusual perks.
» RELATED: Atlanta has highest man-woman pay gap in tech
But while the state (and country overall) is making strides, women in the U.S. working full-time and salaried jobs typically earn approximately 80 cents for every dollar their male counterparts make, according to U.S. census data analyzed by the American Association of University Women.
A national analysis commissioned by the Joint Economic Committee Democratic Staff in 2018 found that Georgia ranks 17th overall in the gender pay gap. Women in the state earn about 18% less than men.
Atlanta in particular boasts the highest man-woman pay gap in tech in the country: "a yawning, 72 percent gap," the AJC reported in 2016.
For working women of color, the gap is even wider when compared to both white men and white women.
According to the AAUW report, black women make 61 cents for every dollar a white man makes; Native American women make 58 cents and Hispanic women, only 53 cents.
Explore Forbes' full "Best Employers For Women" ranking at forbes.com.
About the Author
