Updated February 14, 2013
Which U.S. retail industry companies are the best employers for women who want to get promoted into retail executive leadership, management and executive positions in 2013? According to the National Association of Female Executives, (NAFE) that question can be answered by looking at the number of women who are currently in the executive ranks in each retail company, particularly if those women are leading the biggest divisions, reporting directly to the CEO, sitting on the Board of Directors, or using their P&L authority to make decisions which directly affect a retail company’s profitability.
RELATED: What is the Best Retail Company to Work For?
In order to be considered as one of the Top Companies for Executive Women, retail chains must have at least two women on their board of directors and at least 1000 U.S. based employees. In order to choose the 50 Top Companies for Executive Women, the NAFE looks at the percentage of females who work in a retail company, as well as the percentage of females who are senior managers, corporate executives, P&L executives, CEO direct reports, among other executive markers. The NAFE is looking for companies that have female representation at all levels of the organization.
Implicit in this NAFE “best company” ranking list is the assumption that if women were able to work their way into the executive ranks in the past, that they will also be able to work their way into executive leadership positions in the future as well.
In 2013, there were only four companies that could be classified as U.S. retailers that were included on the NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women. Two of these top “retail” companies are telecommunications companies, but since they have have significant retail operations throughout the U.S. they are included here.
What follows is a list of U.S. retail industry companies (and companies with significant retail operations) that were included on the Top 50 companies for Executive Women in 2013, and each year prior to that back to 2008. While the NAFE identifies a Top 50, it does not designate rankings among between those 50 companies. So the lists below are arranged in alphabetical order, according to the name of the retail company.
2013 Best US Retail Industry Companies for Women in Leadership Positions
AT&T
According to NAFE research, the breakdown of AT&T’s female workforce is:
- 39% all employees are women
- 27% of senior managers are women
- 21% corporate executives are women
- 29% Top 10% of earners in the company are women
- 25% of the P&L Executives are women
- 30% of billion-dollar division leaders are women
- 10% of CEO direct reports are women
- 17% of the Board of Director members are women
- Also, manager pay is linked to helping women advance
Click to search and apply for AT&T retail jobs >>
Dell
According to NAFE research, the breakdown of Dell’s female workforce is:
- 33% all employees are women
- 20% of senior managers are women
- 20% corporate executives are women
- 16% Top 10% of earners in the company are women
- 13% of the P&L Executives are women
- 0% of billion-dollar division leaders are women
- 9% of CEO direct reports are women
- 15% of the Board of Director members are women
Click to search and apply for Dell retail jobs >>
Target
According to NAFE research, the breakdown of Target’s female workforce is:
- 57% all employees are women
- 43% of senior managers are women
- 36% corporate executives are women
- N/A Top 10% of earners in the company are women
- 67% of the P&L Executives are women
- 67% of billion-dollar division leaders are women
- 45% of CEO direct reports are women
- 36% of the Board of Director members are women
Click to search and apply for Target retail jobs >>
Verizon
According to NAFE research, the breakdown of Verizon’s female workforce is:
- 39% all employees are women
- 31% of senior managers are women
- 29% corporate executives are women
- 32% Top 10% of earners in the company are women
- 28% of the P&L Executives are women
- 18% of billion-dollar division leaders are women
- 17% of CEO direct reports are women
- 25% of the Board of Director members are women
- Also, manager pay is linked to helping women advance
Click to search and apply for Verizon retail jobs >>
2011 NAFE Best Retail Companies for Executive Women
AT&T (ATT)
Current Job Openings at AT&T
Macy's Inc. (M)
Employment Research Index for Macy’s
McDonald's Corporation (MCD)
Current Job Openings at McDonald’s
Office Depot (ODP)
Current Job Openings at Office Depot
Verizon (VZ)
Current Job Openings at Verizon
Wal-Mart (WMT)
Employment Research Index for Wal-Mart
2010 NAFE Best Retail Companies for Executive Women
AT&T (ATT)
Current Job Openings at AT&T
AvonProducts(AVP)
Current Job Openings at Avon
Macy's Inc. (M)
Employment Research Index for Macy’s
Office Depot (ODP)
Current Job Openings at Office Depot
Verizon (VZ)
Current Job Openings at Verizon
Wal-Mart (WMT)
Employment Research Index for Walmart
2009 NAFE Best Retail Companies for Executive Women
Avon Products AVP)
Current Job Openings at Avon
Ford Motor Company(F)
Current Job Openings at Ford
Liz Claiborne (LIZ)
Current Job Openings at Liz Claiborne
Macy's (M)
Current Job Openings at Macy's
Office Depot (ODP)
Current Job Openings at Office Depot
Verizon (VZ)
Current Job Openings at Verizon
Wal-Mart (WMT)
Employment Research Index for Walmart
2008 NAFE Best Retail Companies for Executive Women
Liz Claiborne (LIZ)
Current Job Openings at Liz Claiborne
Macy's, Inc. (M)
Employment Research Index for Macy’s
Office Depot (ODP)
Current Job Openings at Office Depot
Wal-Mart (WMT)
Employment Research Index for Walmart
