Milwaukee Women Inc: Commends seven Wisconsin companies for national recognition of initiatives that support and advance women in business

Contact: Jilaine Hummel Bauer

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info@milwaukeewomeninc.org

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Four are Represented on Milwaukee Women Inc Steering Committee

Milwaukee (January 26, 2010) ‐‐ Milwaukee Women inc commends seven companies headquartered or with a significant presence in Wisconsin for national recognition of initiatives that support and advance women in business. Four of the seven are represented on Milwaukee Women inc’s Steering Committee. We hope Wisconsin’s business leaders will be inspired by their actions. We also hope that Wisconsin companies will meet the challenge we made last fall when we released our biennial report on the gender diversity of the leadership of Wisconsin’s 50 largest public companies ‐ to increase the number of women directors on their boards to at least 25% by 2014.

All seven companies appeared on FORTUNE magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work for”, and four of them are represented on Milwaukee Women inc’s Steering Committee. The four companies, their Fortune 100 rankings and their Milwaukee Women inc Steering Committee representatives are: Robert W. Baird (11) and Mary Ellen Stanek; Ernst & Young (44) and Sharon Reed; Deloitte (70) and Krista Brookman; KPMG (88) and Lindsay Hammerer. The other three companies are Johnson Financial Group (22); Mattel (American Girl Subsidiary) (78); and S.C. Johnson & Son (83).

To compile their ranking, FORTUNE partners with the Great Place to Work Institute to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America. Two‐thirds of a company’s score is based on the results of the Institute’s Trust Index survey, which is sent to a random sample of employees from each company. The other third of the scoring is based on the company’s responses to the Institute’s Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about pay and benefit programs and a series of open‐ended questions about hiring, communication, and diversity.

Deloitte also is a 2010 Catalyst Award winner for its program, The Women’s Initiative: Living the Lattice. The mission of this initiative is to drive marketplace growth and create a culture where the best talent chooses to work. It has fueled significant increases for women in leadership: women’s representation as partners, principals, and directors has risen from 6 percent in 1995 to 22 percent in 2009, and representation of women senior managers has increased from 23 percent to 36 percent in the same timeframe. Deloitte reached an additional milestone in 2009 when it surpassed the 1,000 mark for U.S. women partners, principals, and directors.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE WOMEN INC

Formed in 2002, Milwaukee Women inc (MWi) is a collaborative effort of executive and professional women working to change the face and quality of business leadership in Wisconsin. It is recognized as a trusted resource for research, information and advice about gender diversity on corporate boards and executive suites. In addition to its biennial report benchmarking the number of women board members and executive officers in the WI 50, through the national organization, InterOrganization Network (ION), it partners with organizations located across the United States that share its mission in publishing a national report each year and various other initiatives to increase the gender diversity of corporate executive suites and boards. For more information about Milwaukee Women inc, its Steering Committee, and its research, please visit our website at http://www.milwaukeewomeninc.org. For media and other inquiries, please contact info@milwaukeewomeninc.org.