2010 Best Places to Work for the Advancement of Women
Baird Holm and ICAN Proudly Announce
“Best Places to Work for the Advancement of Women”
Objective
To establish an annual award, recognizing a local company that promotes the advancement of women in the workplace.
What is the purpose of the Best Places Initiative?
Best Places is an annual initiative of Baird Holm LLP and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce that provides an opportunity for employers to learn more about the engagement and satisfaction of their employees through an online employee survey. Research clearly shows that more engaged employees tend to stay longer, serve customers more effectively, and help drive a more profitable company. This competition recognizes the top five employers in both a 50-250 employee category and a more than 250 employee category. Winners are publicly recognized at a luncheon event sponsored by Baird Holm as part of the annual Baird Holm Labor Forum. The event will be held at the Qwest Center on May 6, 2010. Previous participants have found the initiative an important way of helping them create a better workplace which, in turn, helps them be more productive.
What is the purpose of the Best Places to Work for the Advancement of Women award?
Women in Nebraska rank third in the United States for work force participation, with over 67% of women participating. However, Nebraska women rank 49th in the U.S. for those in managerial and professional positions. Nebraska has an educated workforce of women with high overall participation but seemingly minimal opportunity for advancement. It is our expectation that introducing an award of this nature will raise awareness of these issues in the Omaha business community.
What information is collected in the survey?
The Best Places to Work in Omaha survey collects information based on ten themes (e.g. Team Effectiveness). The majority of questions require a numerical response on a 6-point scale (1=Strongly Disagree and 6=Strongly Agree) with a few opportunities to provide additional feedback. The results are then collated/analyzed and presented to company management.
Engagement of women results
The award is a reflection of growing concerns about the lack of advancement opportunities for women in the workplace in Nebraska. Although other awards exist in the community to promote the advancement of women, Baird Holm and ICAN wanted to recognize the efforts of an entire organization as opposed to an individual. The “Best Places to Work for the Advancement of Women” award will hopefully set the bar higher for the advancement of women by local companies.
Benefits
- Address concerns about lack of advancement of women in the workplace
- Set the bar higher for the advancement of women by local companies