How to find companies that support working women

In today’s challenging job market, women have one additional thing to worry about: Whether or not the company they’re hoping to work for will actually support them. In 2025, the findings from Lean In’s Women in the Workplace study were somewhat bleak: Only half of the companies surveyed are prioritizing women’s career advancement.

However, there are still some companies that appear fully committed to the success of the women who work there. Whether you have your eye on the C-suite or simply want a job that won’t make you miserable, these tips could help you find a corporation that values your contributions and prioritizes your success.

Key Takeaways

• Companies that support women tend to have more women in leadership. Ideally, you want to see at least 40% of women in the executive suite. Currently, in corporate America, less than one third of leaders are women.
• Other signs that a company supports women include robust diversity and inclusion initiatives, flexibility in working hours, parental and caregiver leave for all genders, women-focused ERGS, merit-based advancement opportunities, and employee sponsorship programs.
• While small companies may offer great environments for women, it’s easier to track the behavior of larger companies. For that reason, big organizations like Delta, MetLife, Eli Lilly, Google, Blue Shield of California, and Sodexo are often recognized as great places for women to work.
• To determine whether a company supports women during your interview process, ask about the company culture and, if possible, speak to employees who already work there about their experiences.

What does it mean for a company to support women at work?

Comprehensive health care and clear anti-harassment policies are the bare minimum; many additional policies are needed to create work environments where women can thrive.

Unfortunately, LeanIn.Org’s Women in the Workplace survey found that many companies are rolling back programs that are particularly beneficial for women, including remote work, formal sponsorship, and targeted career development. This could be part of why, for the first time ever, the survey noted an ambition gap, meaning women were less interested in being promoted than men. That’s not to say women don’t want to get ahead at work. Lean In found that when women receive the same support as men in their field, the gap in ambition to advance falls away.

While what matters most will vary from person to person, these are some of the signs that a company could be a good place for a woman to work.

7 signs that companies genuinely support their women employees

1. Women in Leadership

One of the strongest signals that a company supports women is that there is solid representation of women at the top. The closer a company is to having 50% women in leadership, the better. “There are many companies that hire about half women at the entry level, but have only 20% women at the senior leadership level,” Noble-Tolla says. When assessing a company, Lean In also takes into account how long those women stay for: If there are plenty of women in senior leadership, but they tend to leave after a year, that’s not a great sign.

When you dive deeper into the companies with higher ratios of women at the top, Noble-Tolla says they tend to have many or all of the other qualities and programs on this list.

2. Leaders Who Genuinely Care About Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion programs can vary in quality, but having a person in leadership tasked with handling D&I is important for the success of women. “[There should be] a company leader who's specifically focused on diversity and inclusion, holding leadership accountable for diversity and inclusion outcomes, and making sure companies set clear and consistent criteria for hiring and promotions and track hiring and promotion outcomes,” Noble-Tolla says.

At smaller companies that might not have dedicated diversity and inclusion teams, there are other positive signs that can signal a commitment to D&I, like diverse leadership that doesn’t have high turnover rates, a company culture team, or strong policies around work-life balance and fairness in hiring.

3. Parental and Caregiving Leave

At this point, having a parental leave policy is, as Noble-Tolla puts it, table stakes. With that in mind, having a comprehensive parental and caregiving leave policy doesn’t necessarily guarantee that women who work at the company won’t face a “motherhood penalty”—the assumption that mothers are less committed to their careers, and therefore offered fewer opportunities. However, in a country where maternity leave is not required by law, it does at least indicate that there is a policy in place to support women who choose to have children.

4. Women-Focused ERGs

Employee resource groups (ERGs) help connect colleagues with similar identities for support and informal mentorship. In smaller companies that might not have the budget for a whole D&I department, women-focused ERGs or similar groups focused on inclusion can be the next best thing. “It’s a positive sign if they have something that shows they care about culture and diverse employees,” Noble-Tolla says.

5. Merit-Based Career Advancement Opportunities

Studies have shown that men and women are often held to different hiring and promotion standards. To combat this, Lean In recommends setting clear evaluation criteria with quantifiable measures and training managers on how to consistently apply them for all employees. One study out of Stanford showed that when this happens, subjective comments about women dropped from 14% to 1% in performance reviews.

6. Sponsorship Programs

“Having a sponsor is correlated with getting a promotion,” Noble-Tolla says, noting that having multiple senior-level sponsors increases an employee’s chances even further. However, entry-level men are much more likely than their female peers to have a sponsor. Formal sponsorship programs, with clear guidelines on what’s expected of both parties in the relationship, can help close this gap. Smaller organizations are less likely to have these programs, so you may need to look for other signs of support. “How do senior-level employees support and foster the career growth of more junior employees?” is a fair question to ask during the interview process.

7. Flexibility in Working Hours and Location

The ability to shift working hours or location is not only helpful for caregivers–it can also be a sign that companies sincerely support women, since women are more likely to play caregiving roles. “You want to look for a culture where the ideal worker isn’t someone who’s working 12 to 16 hour days,” says Noble-Tolla.

Even better–look out for companies that don’t just offer flexibility, but normalize and celebrate it. When flexibility isn’t the norm, women are more likely to experience flexibility stigma: Lean In found that only a third of women who work remotely have received a promotion in the last two years, compared to over half of women who work on-site. Men who work remotely do not experience the same type of negative career effects.

What are some companies known for supporting women?

While an individual’s experience may vary, there are large companies that show up again and again on Best Workplaces for Women lists. In no particular order, here are six that consistently get high marks and positive employee reviews.

Delta

Delta received 4.5 out of 5 stars on Newsweek’s Greatest Workplaces for Women 2026 list, came in at #25 on Fortune’s list of Best Workplaces for Women 2025 list, and has a 4.8 rating among women employees on Glassdoor. Women employees most often cite the company’s career opportunities, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and benefits programs as the top reasons they enjoy working there.

MetLife

Over five years ago, MetLife launched a 14-month leadership program for women called Developing Women’s Career Experience. Lean In found that, after the program was implemented, more than half of MetLife’s managers and entry-level workers were women. According to the company’s most recent Sustainability Scorecard, the workforce is still more than half women, although men hold the majority of leadership positions. MetLife has also been consistently recognized as a great place to work and has a strong ERG program, including the Global Women’s Business Network.

Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly has five stars on the Newsweek Greatest Workplaces for Women list and was ranked #111 on Forbes Best Employers for Women in 2025. Eli Lilly employees on InHerSight, a career and company review platform, report flexible work hours, equal learning opportunities, sponsorship/mentorship programs, and “family growth support,” including parental leave. Noble-Tolla confirms that Eli Lilly is known for having “a very balanced work-life culture that starts at the top with leadership encouraging people to take their PTO … and taking it themselves too.”

Google

Like Delta, Google has dropped degree requirements for a variety of positions, which helps diversify the hiring pool. The company has five stars on Newsweek’s list and comes in at 97 on Forbes. InHerSight respondents report a strong parental leave policy and support for returning moms, plus say the people who work there are generally professional and unbiased.

Blue Shield of California

Like Eli Lilly, Noble-Tolla says Blue Shield of California has a reputation for healthy work-life balance. “It’s not coincidental that both companies are in the healthcare space [where] you have far more women in leadership than in most other sectors,” she says. A 2022 Lean In case study found that 95 percent of women employees at the company said they felt fairly treated.

Sodexo

Sodexo is a company that has made intentional moves to increase the number of women in leadership. A 2019 Lean In case study analyzed the company’s new two-step plan—a mentoring circle program and a scorecard that held managers accountable for their diversity and inclusion efforts, typing 10% of their bonus to the scorecard. The Lean In Study found that these methods significantly increased women’s representation, especially in higher-level positions.

How can I tell if a company actually supports women during my interview?

It’s not always possible to accurately measure how supportive a company is toward women until after you’re hired, but there are plenty of ways to spot green (or red) flags. For one thing, check out the board of directors and senior leadership if the list of people in these roles is listed publicly: Gender diversity here tends to be a good sign. The positive policies listed above are often outlined on larger companies’ public job listings. If they aren’t, it’s completely reasonable to ask about them during the interview process.

“If you have a panel interview, it’s pretty standard to ask about the culture or ask people what they like about working there,” Noble-Tolla says. If you can, try to have informal chats with people who work at the company but aren’t part of the interview process as well – ideally, people who share your identity. “Ask them what they like about working there.”

Either way, keep in mind that most people aren’t eager to gossip about their current employer, especially if you’re a stranger. “You’ll probably have to read between the lines,” Noble-Tolla says. “People tend not to share all the gory details with a potential hire.”

“Once you’ve been offered the job, it’s very normal to ask about benefits and PTO,” Noble-Tolla says. If the onboarding materials have only vague mentions of inclusion, diversity, or work-life balance, don’t be afraid to ask for more details. Ultimately, a company that genuinely supports women will be eager to share the efforts they’ve made to create a fair and welcoming workplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are some signs that a company supports women at work? In addition to an enforced anti-harassment policy and comprehensive health care, signs that a company supports women includes diversity and inclusion initiatives, flexibility in work hours and location, parental and caregiver leave for all genders, women-focused ERGs, merit-based advancement opportunities, and formal sponsorship programs open to all employees.
• How can I tell if a company supports women before I accept a job? Check out any public information about their leadership: A diverse gender mix at the top of the organization is a good sign that the business supports women throughout their careers. You can also ask about the company culture in the interview process, and reach out to current employees for their feedback.
• What are some top companies that support women? Delta, MetLife, Eli Lilly, Google, Blue Shield of California, and Sodexo are all companies that tend to rank highly on lists of the best places for women to work.