Bloomington, Illinois, May 23, 2008 – State Farm® announced today that it has been named one of the Top 30 Companies for Executive Women by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE).
"We are proud to be recognized by the NAFE, the largest women's professional and business owners' association in the country," said State Farm Executive Vice President Barbara Cowden. "The recognition highlights our continuous efforts to encourage the advancement of all employees throughout the State Farm organization."
The awards were determined by NAFE based on several different criteria, including the percentage of women employees, board members and direct reports to the CEO, profit-and-loss roles, succession planning, training opportunities and the availability of work-life balance programs.
According to NAFE, State Farm was in the top half of companies in the percentage of women employees, percentage of women on the Board and the percentage of women running $100 million plus business areas. State Farm was also one of 13 companies where the Board reviews succession plans for women.
State Farm currently has three women serving on State Farm Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors. They are Judith A. Muhlberg, a consultant for Gagen MacDonald LLC, Susan M. Phillips, the Dean and Professor of Finance for the School of Business and Public Management at The George Washington University, and Pamela B. Strobel, a former Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for the Exelon Corporation.
Three women also are a part of the top executive group called the Chairman’s Council. They are Barbara Cowden, Executive Vice President – State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Deborah Traskell, Executive Vice President – State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and Susan D. Waring, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer – State Farm Life Insurance Company and Vice President – Health, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company.
NAFE examined the number of women in each company overall, in senior management, and on its board of directors. To be named to the NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women, companies with a minimum of two women on the board completed a comprehensive application that focused on the number of women in senior ranks (compared to men and to the company population), including questions about the programs and policies which support women's advancement.
The complete report is available in the Spring 2008 Issue of NAFE.
For questions or more information, contact Carol Carey-Odekirk, Public Affairs, at (309) 766-6781.
State Farm® insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 67,000 employees serve over 77 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.