Forbes Names The Estée Lauder Companies as a Best Employer for Women

The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has been named to Forbes Magazine’s first-ever America’s Best Employers for Women 2018.

The Forbes America’s Best Employers for Women list is based on an independent survey of more than 40,000 U.S. employees working for companies with at least 1,000 people within the U.S., from all industry sectors. All participants answered general questions about their workplace relating to topics like working conditions, salary and diversity. In addition, female participants were asked to respond to topics such as parental leave, family support, flexibility, discrimination and pay equity. Companies were also indexed based on the share of women who fill top executive and board positions. The 300 companies receiving the highest total scores have been recognized by Forbes as The Best Employers for Women 2018.

Following in the footsteps of its founder, Mrs. Estée Lauder, The Estée Lauder Companies has always strived to empower women at all levels of the company, wherever they work — in manufacturing facilities, laboratories, corporate offices or retail environments. Today, women constitute 84 percent of ELC’s global workforce; 52 percent of senior positions (vice president and above) are held by women; 47 percent of the company’s Board of Directors are women.

Recently, the company announced new and enhanced family-related programs, policies and benefits for its diverse employee base in the U.S.*, including a 20-week Paid Parental Leave Policy and Back-to-Work Flexibility Policy. Beyond these efforts, ELC employees can join a variety of Employee Resource Groups, such as the Women's Leadership Network, which supports, encourages, and engages women across the company to reach their full potential both personally and professionally.

Ask the Women of ELC

A collection of women at The Estée Lauder Companies reflect on their experiences at work

Yuliya, who's been with the company for 10 years, helps ELC build its e-commerce presence around the world. In her role, she draws upon her love of languages (she speaks five!) and her passion for computer programming. “One of the main reasons why I love working for The Estée Lauder Companies is you can certainly share your mind and be open. That's what makes us innovative. And that's why we're such a pioneer in the digital world.”

Eileen works for the Estée Lauder brand, building and managing social media and influencer partnerships. “My managers encourage me to speak up because they want to hear from me. They understand that I know this space and what's going on. If it's an idea that is executable, they're like, ‘Okay, let's do it. Let's figure out how we can just go with it,’ — so it's really exciting.”

Shirley, who works in online strategy, graduated from Princeton with an engineering degree, worked in finance on Wall Street, and after business school decided to move into a more consumer-focused field at ELC. “In my role I get to look at this intersection of beauty and technology and look at a lot of the trends that are going on in the market place…whether that means digital technology that helps the consumer pick her products to how consumers learn about beauty trends. We have such a great working place for women who are really empowered to be the voice of the consumer in what we do.”

Sarah, who works in consumer engagement at Bobbi Brown, came to ELC through its Presidential Management Associate Program, the company’s two-year rotational program for MBA graduates. “I don't know any other job where within two years, you can be in different roles, build networks with different teams, and then have development sessions to highlight key leadership skills. Within the first six months of joining the company I had an incredible opportunity to present to a room of senior leaders. I think there's so many opportunities here.”

*These benefits, programs and policies are available to U.S.-based, full-time, The Estée Lauder Companies benefits-eligible employees who have completed more than 90 continuous days of service.

Forbes Names The Estée Lauder Companies as a Best Employer for Women

Ask the Women of ELC

You May Also Like