SC Johnson a Best Company For Working Moms

RACINE, Wis. – Working Mother magazine recently released the “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” list and this marks the 21st year SC Johnson has been named to the list.

“SC Johnson is pleased to be honored as a family-friendly place to work,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “Treating our people with respect, integrity and fairness is not just what’s right, it’s what our company culture is built on. SC Johnson applauds all the companies on this list who share our passion for family and worklife programs.”

As the economy tightens, more moms are going back to work than ever before. According to the US Census Bureau, the number of working moms with children at home has increased exponentially. With 77.5 million working moms in the United States1, that’s a lot of mothers making more business dates than play dates. And that means finding a place to work that understands the challenges of working parents is even more important.

As part of this year’s recognition, Working Mother specifically considered workforce, compensation, child care, flexibility programs, leave policies and more. Seven areas were measured and scored: workforce profile, benefits, women’s issues and advancement, child care, flexible work, parental leave and company culture. For this year’s 100 Best, particular weight was given to benefits, flexibility and parental leave.

With 83 percent of moms returning to the work force after their child’s birth2, SC Johnson understands the importance of helping working families balance challenges. The company offers many programs and options for working moms to help make the transition from home to office easier. Such offerings like lactation rooms, a Business Travel-Childcare Reimbursement program, flexible work arrangements and the state-of-the-art Childcare Learning Center in Racine, Wis. allow employees to focus on business tasks and have peace of mind that their families are getting what they need. The Childcare Learning Center offers year-round, full-time, part-time, and before-and-after school childcare for all shifts and serves children from newborn to kindergarten with no waiting list.

“The Working Mother 100 Best Companies stand head and shoulders above the rest,” said Carol Evans, CEO, Working Mother Media. “For example, in the last year, we saw the number of companies nationwide offering flexible work arrangements diminish five percentage points, while the 100 Best Companies stayed steady at 100 percent. The 100 Best provide leadership where and when we need it most, furnishing a framework of support for working families during good times and bad. If all companies adopted these best practices, more families could weather the economic storm.”

“In today’s business environment, our commitment to working moms and their families has remained a main focus,” said Gayle Kosterman, Executive Vice President – Worldwide Human Resources of SC Johnson. “The programs and policies we have in place, like flexible work schedules and job sharing, an array of wellness programs and our family culture truly contribute to our overall success and help make SC Johnson a great place to work.”

SC Johnson was selected for the 2009 Working Mother 100 Best Companies based on an extensive application with more than 500 questions. The application measured and scored seven areas: workforce profile, compensation, child care, flexibility, time off and leaves, family-friendly programs and company culture. It also checked the usage, availability and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them.

The 100 best companies will be honored in October during a ceremony at the WorkLife Congress in New York City. The complete list of 2009 Working Mother 100 Best Companies can be found at www.workingmother.com

With two million readers, Working Mother magazine is the only national magazine for career-committed moms.

SC Johnson has long been recognized as an employer of choice. Earlier this year, SC Johnson was named to FORTUNE magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For in America” and most recently was recognized by AARP as one of the Best Employers for Workers Over 50.