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The Best Companies For Women, According To The Experts
It's no surprise that women are leading in more ways than one when comes to making boss moves. While some have left the workforce altogether to start businesses, stay at home with their children, or travel, others have taken new, traditional career opportunities to the next level. Women have bagged 57% of the more than 530,000 new jobs that opened up in October, according to reports, and hey, it's always good to know that our savvy, flair and smarts will be dominating into the new year.
Which leads us to this: Where are the jobs, and what companies are putting action behind words to diversify their ranks with opportunities for women to thrive? (There's still work to be done of course, in terms of CEO and board appointments, and equal pay, but that's a whole other story). Let's take a look at the "best" companies for women, according to the experts who put together select elite lists every year. These are companies that have implemented policies, initiatives, and practices that put inclusion, safety, and minority advancement at the forefront.
(A quick note: This list isn't exhaustive nor is it intended to be a ranking of any kind. It's a snapshot, summarized based on inclusion of companies consistently listed on multiple "best" lists that point to not only being great for women, but for Black women specifically, to give you a starting point for research to pursue your career goals.)
1.ADP
If you've ever had to download an app to get your 401K info, tax returns, or digital paystubs, you're probably familiar with ADP. It provides human resource management software and services that are widely used across the globe. AnitaB.org, an online platform, and women computers' community founded in 1987 named ADP among its "2021 Top Companies for Women Technologists" report, in part due to its efforts to "build leadership capabilities to recognize and mitigate unconscious bias in over 2,000 leaders globally through training."
The company also made Seramount's (formally Working Mother Media), "100 Best Companies" list for working mothers, which takes into account whether a company offers inclusive options like flexible work schedules and great childcare benefits.
(A bonus: It's rated highly at 4 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor, a leading platform that highlights reviews from actual employees, both former and current.)
2.The Hershey Company
This powerhouse chocolate manufacturer made Forbes' list of "The World's Top Female-Friendly Companies 2021," ranking at No. 1. For this list, more than 85,000 women were asked to rate their companies on things like pay equity and parental leave, and they were also asked to describe how the brand's backed gender equality or "perpetuated negative stereotypes." Another reason Hershey reported made the cut was due to an initiative the company launched called the Pathways Project, described as "a five-year plan to make its workplace and communities more inclusive" and their savvy in introducing the HSY Care Connect app which offers transportation, tutoring, childcare and eldercare resources.
3.Hilton
They've got top rankings in the hospitality industry, and they took the No. 1 spot on Fortune's 2021 "Best Large Workplaces For Women" list. In partnership with Great Place to Work, a platform that quantifies employee experiences at companies across the U.S., the feedback of more than 5.6 million U.S. workers was analyzed to gain perspectives on "whether different identities women hold change their experience of the workplace," and insights on the daily experiences of innovation, company values, and leader effectiveness.
It also made the top 50 on Glassdoor's 2021 list of "Best Places to Work," with reviews praising its "flexible work hours" and focus on valuing employee opinions.
4.Navy Federal Credit Union
This banking institution headquartered in Virginia ranked 25 among Fortune's 2021 list for "Best Workplaces for Women," but what stands out, even more, is that the company works with groups including Women in Technology, Achieve Escambia, and HBCUs to advocate for and facilitate career advancement for minority groups. They've also hosted organizations such as the African-American Credit Union Coalition, the Human Rights Coalition, and the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America, and they were once named among Fortune's "10 Best Workplaces for African Americans."
5.Bank of America
Bank of America made both the Forbesand Fortunetop lists this year that are specific to women and their needs in the workplace. And more specifically—for our melanated career women—this company made the top 5 on a recent Glassdoor list that focused on "satisfaction" ratings and other insights directly from Black professionals. On a scale of 1 to 5, it had the second-highest "overall company" rating among Black employees surveyed.
6.Estee Lauder
A popular and super-successful beauty brand with a global reach, Estee Lauder made the top 25 on Forbes female-friendly list, but it's also very telling the recent initiatives this company's gotten behind to provide opportunities specific to Black women. There's the Howard University partnership to empower alumni with a career hub, the recent establishment of the Equity and Engagement Center of Excellence to boost equity, and the more-than-inspiring existence of Black women executives among its ranks like Deirdre Stanley, executive vice president and general counsel, and the amazingly chic Black girl magic of the women of NOBLE, the company's Black employee resource group.
7.Hubspot
Comparably, an online resource that provides culture and compensation data, ranked Hubspot No. 1 for "Best Companies for Women," a list that was compiled from the observations of female employees on management efforts to promote diversity and inclusion and provide a positive environment for women. Women gave the company an "A+" rating overall, and the same rating was given about perks and benefits.
The software company also made FlexJobs' list "28 Best Remote-Friendly Companies for Women" due to its flex work and remote job options.
8.Airbnb
This popular lodging and vacation rental platform made Forbes' list for best companies for women, and Airbnb also made the cut for Parity, a platform that works to close race and gender gaps in business. Their list, "The Best Companies for Women to Advance," includes companies that all have "a zero-tolerance policy for harassment," "safe complaint system for employees," and practices of "regularly" communicating gender-equality values to employees.
9.Spectrum Health
Here's a healthcare company that not only made Forbes' 2021 list of "America's Best Employers By State," but more notably in relation to female professionals made Seramount's 2021 "Best Companies for Multicultural Women," list. Spectrum Health reportedly offers paid maternity and gender-neutral parental leave and responded to the challenges of COVID-19 by offering employees childcare resources, support, and remote work options. The company also also "requires cultural competency training, implicit bias education, and diversity in the interview process."
10.Capital One
With convenient web-based financial service options, this bank also boasted high ratings among Black professionals in Glassdoor's report, "Black At Work, which analyzed satisfaction survey perspectives among employees at 28 companies. It also madeFortune's Best Workplaces for Women and Best Companies for Millennials lists, as well as People Magazine's "Companies That Care" list.
For more job search tips, career advice, and profiles, check out the xoNecole Workin' Girl section here.
Featured image via Getty Images/Shannon Faggan
How This New Bond Repair Line Transformed One Mother's Postpartum Shedding Into The Ultimate Curl Comeback
This article is in partnership with SheaMoisture
For Crystal Obasanya, her wash day woes came shortly after her son did. The beauty and lifestyle content creator had been natural for years, but during postpartum, she quickly learned about one reality many mothers can relate to experiencing: postpartum hair loss. “Sis had thinning hair. Sis had split ends,” she shared about her hair changes in a Reel via xoNecole.
Over a year into her postpartum journey, Crystal explained she also had dry, brittle hair, noting that keeping it hydrated before pregnancy had already been “a task.” The 4C natural recalled going from thick hair during pregnancy to a thin hairline due to postpartum shedding as “devastating.” When it came to strengthening and revitalizing her hair, the new SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection was just the thing she needed to elevate her damaged coils to revive and thrive status and get them poppin' again.
SheaMoisture is providing us with the cheat code for transforming dry and damaged strands into thriving and deeply nourished crowns. By unveiling their 4-step hair system, the SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection is equipping you with the tools to reverse signs of hair damage caused by protective styling, heat, and color and is uniquely formulated for Type 3 and 4 hair textures.
The haircare system revives damaged natural hair by repairing and rebuilding broken hair bonds through a game-changing combination of HydroPlex Technology and AminoBlend Complex, a unique blend of fortifying amino acids formulated specifically for curly and coily hair. Scientifically proven to reduce breakage by 84% and make your hair six times stronger (vs. non-conditioning shampoo), the collection infuses your hair with the nourishment it craves and the strength it deserves.
All five products of the SheaMoisture Bond Collection are infused with natural strengthening ingredients like Amla Oil and fair-trade shea butter. The collection consists of the 4-step breakage-fighting Bond Repair system, as well as the Bonding Oil.
“When trying it out, I quickly noticed that my hair felt revived and renewed, and my curls were so hydrated,” Crystal said while using the Amla-infused Bond Repair Leave-In Conditioner. “I also felt my hair strands were stronger.” So much so that the influencer felt brave enough to get her hair braided shortly thereafter. “I can definitely say that I will be keeping it in my hair wash routine,” she added in the caption of her Reel about her positive experience using the products.
SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection is making bond-building a key player in your wash day routines and the purveyor of life for thirsty manes. Because who doesn't want stronger, shinier, happier hair?
Step One: Bond Repair Collection Shampoo
Rejuvenate your hair with SheaMoisture Bond Repair Shampoo, your go-to solution for luscious locks. Packed with hella hydration power, this shampoo adds moisture by 60% while removing buildup without stripping your strands. This shampoo gently cleanses impurities while significantly enhancing shine, smoothness, and softness.
The Bond Repair Collection Shampoo is the first step in the 4-step Bond Repair system, all of which are powered by the uniquely formulated AminoBlend, and HydroPlex, SheaMoisture’s technology that rebuilds hair strength at its core.
Step Two: Bond Repair Collection Conditioner
Tailored to repair styling damage, this creamy conditioner locks in 12x more moisture than standard non-conditioning shampoos, boosting damaged hair strength by 1.5x with significantly less breakage. The creamy SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection Conditioner deeply hydrates, enhances manageability, and leaves your hair looking healthier and shinier.
Step Three: Bond Repair Collection Masque
This Ultra Moisturizing reparative masque is a moisture-rich game-changer for those dealing with the aftermath of hair damage caused by styling. The SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection Masque delivers 13 times more moisture compared to non-conditioning shampoos, ensuring your hair feels nourished and soft. Designed to repair and rejuvenate, this masque significantly strengthens damaged hair — making it twice as strong while reducing breakage.
Step Four: Bond Repair Collection Leave-In Conditioner
Elevate your curl game with SheaMoisture’s Bond Repair Collection Leave-In Conditioner. Lightweight and hydrating, the Bond Repair Leave-In Conditioner provides 12x more moisture than non-conditioning shampoos and tames frizz with 24-hour humidity control. Designed to define curls and coils, the leave-in conditioner enhances softness and shine allowing you to detangle effortlessly.
Bonding Oil
The SheaMoisture Bond Repair Collection Bonding Oil is a multitasking all-in-one formula that acts as a heat protectant and provides the hair with moisture, strength, shine, damage protection, and intense nourishment. This lightweight oil not only offers 24-hour frizz and humidity control but also fortifies your tresses, making them up to 5 times stronger with significantly less breakage.
Featured image courtesy
10 New Moms Share What They Wish They Knew About Sex Post-Delivery
Back when I was the teen mom director for the local chapter of a national non-profit organization, I decided to become a doula. One reason was that I couldn’t stand how disrespectfully dismissive a lot of doctors were towards pregnant teenagers (how you gonna pre-schedule C-sections in girls who are in their first trimester?). My second reason was to do some healing from my own past pregnancy choices (check out “Why I Named The Children I Aborted”). Over time, another reason was that when a woman has a child, she needs support for more than just birthing her baby.
Take her sex life, for example. Although some women have a pretty thriving sex life throughout their pregnancy and, after their six-month check-up, they resume having sex relatively smoothly then as well, for other women, their experience is quite different. And because sex, post-delivery, still (amazingly) remains a taboo topic on a lot of levels, other (new) moms suffer in silence because they feel like they are alone.
That, right there, is why I decided to sit down with some mothers to have them share what they wish someone had given them the heads up on when it comes to sex after having a child. If you are a mom who’s having some challenges in the bedroom, hopefully, this will assure you that others get exactly where you are coming from. If you’re not a mom (yet), my goal is that you can get an idea of some things that could possibly happen — so that you can surround yourself with the support that you need (i.e., a girlfriend, some other new moms, even a counselor, if necessary). That way, you can do what needs to be done to get your sex life back (or right) to where you want it to be…in time.
*Middle names are used in this type of content so that people can speak freely*
1. Bevelynn. 28. Mom of a Six-Month-Old Daughter. First Child.
“The weirdest thing for me is there are certain positions that can always make me cum that were super uncomfortable throughout most of my pregnancy. So, it felt like I was having sex for my partner instead of with him. Then, after having the baby, my man was so used to hurrying through sex because that’s how I was while pregnant that he felt self-conscious that I was trying to ‘coach him’ through foreplay like he wasn’t a good lover.
"You know how they say that sex, after abstinence, is like riding a bicycle? The hell you say! There was a lot to relearn that it was almost like having sex for the first time again. Pretty much a year of sex being one way and then adjusting to something else will do that to you. We’re still figuring it out.”
2. Embree. 34. Mom to a 11-Month-Old Son. Third Child.
“I never had postpartum depression, thank God. I did go through a long sex lull. I love my babies, Lord knows that I do, but you don’t really get just how much sex creates them until you have them, if that makes sense. Being a mom is fulfilling and draining — any woman who says otherwise isn’t taking her role as seriously as she should. And when you sit and realize that kids can’t exist without sex, you have moments when you’ll avoid having it at all costs because you don’t want to risk what comes from it — another baby. And that’s just the truth.”
3. Gail. 37. Mom to a Four-Month-Old. Third Child.
“Please don’t give your husband a hard time about getting used to your new body and hormonal changes during sex. It might be popular to act like men shouldn’t have a say in giving birth or what comes with it, but science says otherwise, and while they’re supporting you through your changes, they might end up going months without intimacy — no man wants that. The more talks [that] you have about sexual needs and expectations before getting pregnant, the better. Remember that he is a part of all of this, too.”
4. Quincee. 32. Mom to a One-Year-Old Daughter. First Child.
“I was told that I should get a doula before having my daughter, and I should’ve listened because it makes no sense to push out a baby on your back. My friends who had doula assistance learned positions that were way more helpful. Since I didn’t and my daughter, although I love her dearly, has a really big head, I tore pretty badly. The healing process was borderline hell but, more than anything, I had some PTSD about allowing any — and I do mean anything — from going into my vagina.
"I don’t care if it was a penis, a sex toy, or even a tampon, I was traumatized. Get those perineal massages before giving birth, squat during labor, and get a man who loves oral sex, both ways, so that you both can get through the adjusting. That’s the best advice that I can give on it.”
5. Francis. 30. Mom to a Seven-Month-Old. Second Child.
“You might need to see a sex therapist after having children. It might sound crazy, but no one talks about how having a baby changes everything about you — every single thing. My husband has always been able to please me, and he’s not small in the least, but after having our first child, my vagina never felt the same. That kept me from feeling the same pleasure, which made me want to have sex less and even resent him for not being able to please me like he used to.
"We tried to figure it out on our own, but that started to affect his self-esteem, and then we weren’t having much sex. My girlfriends had some of the worst advice, so I spoke with a marriage counselor who referred me to a sex therapist who helped me to understand the transitions of motherhood, sexually. It’s one of the best things that happened to our relationship. My best advice is nothing is fully ever the same after a baby — sex, for me, was on top of that list.”
6. Erda. 25. Mom to a Three-Month-Old Son. First Child.
“Being a mom is hard as sh-t — do you hear me? I am terrified of getting pregnant. I don’t mean any time soon; I’m contemplating being done forever because my pregnancy was difficult, and my son thinks that we all should be up all day and all night long. People keep telling me that this will pass, but until it does, whenever I see my husband’s penis, it’s like ‘enemy #1’ in my eyes. We can do some oral action; I’ve always been about that. But if he wants to put that thing in me, I always want him to put on three condoms — I’m NOT playing.”
Shellie here: As a doula, I’ll be checking back on her in six more months or so. Something tells me that this will have a bit more balance in the narrative. Those first few months can be a mutha, indeed.
7. Laurelle. 39. Mom to a One-Year-Old. Fourth Child.
“Even after having four kids, I never got used to my breasts being available to everyone. Mine, then my husband and mine, and then, for a season, my kids — and then sometimes everyone’s. Our two first children were less than two years apart, so I swear that my husband didn’t get to touch my breasts for like three years straight…and he’s a breast man! I don’t think anyone can fully prepare you for how to be a momand a sexual being at the same time. It’s one of the hardest things about motherhood to date.”
8. Iris. 30. Mom to a One-Year-Old. Second Child.
“Your erogenous zones might change. Mine did. I used to not be a breast person, but I started having orgasms while breastfeeding, which kind of creeped me out but then it made me want my breast played with more than ever during sex with my man. The other thing is my thighs got pulled on a lot during labor, and so, I’m kind of jumpy when my fiancé reaches out for them now — and he’s a thigh man. Having a child isn’t just a miracle because of the baby. Being able to figure out a new normal in the bedroom is a miracle, too, sis.”
Shellie here: If you can relate to what Iris just said about climaxing while breastfeeding, there is no reason to feel embarrassed or guilty.Breastfeeding tends to produce some of the same hormones that come from sexual stimulation — for instance, remember that oxytocin is a bonding chemical.It’s for this same reason that you might produce extra milk when you orgasm after having sex with your partner. It’s natural. It also tends not to last forever. It will usually pass.
9. Hope. 32. Mom to a Four-Month-Old. Second Child.
“The talk about the whole ‘Madonna-Whore’ thing that men may go through — you know, how once you become their wife or mother of their child, they have a hard time seeing you as a sexual being. Some of us go through that, too. I don’t have hang-ups about sex. I’m just not as nasty as I used to be. My body is used for so many different things now, and the fluids get all mixed in together — I dunno. Sometimes, when I’m about to show my porn side, I’m like, ‘Hold up — is this appropriate? I’m a mother now. It’s so complex, honey.”
10. Tateyana. 27. Mom to a Nine-Month-Old. First Child.
“I was told to get a co-sleeper and keep our baby out of our bed. I didn’t listen. I wish I had because now our bedroom is more like a nursery/daycare and it’s harder than ever to keep our son out of our bed — emotionally. My husband is patient; sometimes, he’s the one who wants our son to stay in the bed but we know that sex is an important part of marriage and we certainly didn’t sign up to be co-parents who are roommates. When they say that the bedroom is for sex and sleep only, the sleep part really shouldn’t be your children. They’ve got a room. They’ll be fine in there. We’re trying to wean him off now, so I’m preaching to the choir here. Sex after babies…it’s just so much.”
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Sex after babies…it’s just so much. As you can see, sex, post-delivery can be layered, complex, and sometimes challenging. Still, if you have a partner who is understanding, if you’re patient with yourself throughout your transitions, and if you get that healthy intimacy has a mental, emotional, and spiritual component that can get you through all of the physical “growing pains” that you may be experiencing — sex after having a child can become richer, closer and even better with time.
After all, a new normal? Sometimes, it exceeds what you’ve been accustomed to.
And isn’t that something to look forward to when it comes to post-delivery intimacy? Definitely.
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