Avon rated No. 1 in nation for executive women
By Dana Knight
Indianapolis Star
Leave it to a makeup company to make women look good.
Top 10 companies for executive women, ranked by the National Association for Female Executives. — The Indianapolis Star
Avon Products doesn't just powder noses and shine lips. It does a darn good job of pampering heads — on the inside.
Opportunity to move up
Avon has been rated the No. 1 company in the country for executive women as well as for achievements in the advancement, training and appreciation of women.
Thirty businesses made the list, which was compiled by the New York-based National Association for Female Executives.
Not all of them were mascara makers. Companies such as IBM Corp., Kraft Foods and PepsiCo scored big.
Not all had a big-city rep. Winners came from Illinois and Ohio and even a little place called Bensalem, Pa.
To be considered, companies must have women in senior management and women in the pipeline ready to pounce on management positions and programs that ensure training and job rotation, among other criteria.
Unfortunately, there were not a lot of companies that met the criteria, says Betty Spence, president of NAFE.
"Most companies have not dispelled myths about women's commitment, about their risk quotient, willingness to relocate and ability to manage men or run a manufacturing operation," she says.
Those are all obstacles that many women face as they try to make that climb.
Barbara Branic, president of Union Planters' greater Indianapolis region and one of the city's high-ranking businesswomen, says that in the banking business, it was less of a challenge for her making it to the top and more for the men around her.
"I had tremendous mentors, mostly men, who got way out of their comfort zones to manage a high-
potential woman," she says. "It wasn't easy for them. I credit them for working to mentor me when it wasn't necessarily a comfortable thing."
Preparing men for top jobs is still the comfortable thing to do at most companies — a mentality that's bound to change.
But it's up to women, too, says Branic, who started out in retailing at J.C. Penney, then stepped into banking as a credit analyst 20 years ago.
"I always tell (women) to take the chip off your shoulder," she says.
"You're going to be — no matter who you are — asked to do some grunt-work assignments at some point."
So forget you're a woman at all and be the most solid employee you can be.
"That's job one," she says. "It's about the work you do."
And nothing else.
Or at least that's the way they say it should be.
