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Flexibility

One option for helping women budget their own time to accommodate family and work obligations is through flexible work arrangements. These set-ups can vary from telecommuting to compressed workweeks and flextime to personal time off.


Flexible scheduling can be especially difficult to implement in the nonexempt workforce. Read Nixing 9 to 5 to learn more about flexibility strategies for an hourly workforce.

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Leadership development programs

While women represent 53% of new hires in the American workforce, according to Sylvia Hewlett of the Center for Work-Life Policy, this number drops to 37% in the next tier of advancement—when individuals are promoted to managers, estimates Catalyst. Continuing up the ladder, women’s representation numbers decline. Catalyst finds that women held only 14% of the Fortune 500 executive officer positions in 2010 and 16% of Fortune 500 board seats.


Development initiatives like sponsorship and mentoring programs can help increase diversity at the highest levels in an organization. To learn more about the business case for developing female leaders, read Developing the Next Generation of Rosies.

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Parental leave and adoption benefits

One benefit that is attractive for women is extended or paid maternity leave. However, as a nation we rank near last for parental leave benefits. According to the Society for Human Resource Managers, only 16% of companies offer paid maternity leave benefits in 2011 and the same percentage offers paid paternity leave and paid adoption leave.


Adoption benefits are becoming more popular in the U.S. to help with the financial strains of adopting a child as well as to provide time off to new parents. Here is the 2011 list of the most adoption-friendly companies.

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Child and elder care

Helping a working woman find appropriate and affordable care for her children or parents can save that employee a good deal of time and stress than having her attempt to do this on her own during work hours.


Many baby boomers are being labeled as the “sandwich generation” as they need to care for young children, but also their aging parents. That’s why child and elder care benefits can be a lifesaver for middle-aged female employees. Companies often provide resources for their employees that can help them find the right care, and can even have day care facilities in their offices.

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