Bank of America Named 2019 Catalyst Award Winner
Business Wire 17-Jan-2019 9:00 AM
The Company Continues to Be Honored for Its Ongoing Investment to
Support the Development and Success of Women in the Workplace and
Advancing Economic Empowerment for Women
Bank of America today was named the 2019 Catalyst Award winner by
Catalyst, a global nonprofit working with CEOs and leading companies to
build workplaces that work for women. The bank earned the honor based on
its ongoing efforts to be a great place to work and to support the
continued development, empowerment and advancement of women in the
company and around the world. For more than 30 years, the Catalyst Award
has recognized exceptional efforts to accelerate progress for women in
business.
The Catalyst Award announcement comes just one day after the bank also
was recognized for the fourth consecutive year as a leader on the 2019
Bloomberg Gender Equality Index.
This continued recognition reinforces the bank's commitment to invest in
women as they make meaningful contributions within the company and their
communities. Bank of America demonstrates this investment with strong
female representation at all levels of the organization — women make up
more than 50 percent of its global workforce; more than 40 percent of
its managers; more than 40 percent of its global management team; and
more than 30 percent of its board of directors.
"Bank of America has a long-standing history of supporting women's
economic empowerment and leadership, both inside and outside of our
organization. By creating a workplace where all employees can bring
their whole self to work, we're creating an environment where everyone
can succeed and deliver for our customers and clients," said Sheri
Bronstein, global human resources executive. "Being named the Catalyst
Award winner is reinforcement of the emphasis we've put on diversity and
inclusion as part of our efforts to be a great place to work and help
drive responsible growth."
As part of its focus on being a great place to work and delivering for
its customers and clients, the company invests in attracting diverse
talent, creating opportunities for growth and development, supporting
physical, emotional and financial wellness, and advancing economic
mobility.
"We are committed to equality for the women in our company, and women
around the world," said Brian Moynihan, CEO. "When we invest in women
leaders and make sure they have the right resources, they have the power
to achieve any goal. Whether it's starting a business, leading a Fortune
500 company, being there for their family or making an impact in the
community."
Attracting and retaining diverse talent
Bank of America continues to attract diverse talent and provide female
employees the tools and programs to support their success. The bank
partners with more than 200 colleges, universities and other
organizations around the world to attract diverse talent. The company's
recruiting initiatives increased the representation of women across the
company's intern and full-time classes to over 40 percent.
Bank of America is committed to providing an inclusive and rewarding
experience for all, with fair and equitable pay. In January 2018, the
company announced the results of a compensation review for U.S. and U.K.
employees — approximately 80 percent of its global workforce — which
showed that, on average, compensation received by women is equal to 99
percent of that received by men. Results also showed that compensation
received by minority teammates, on average, is equal to 99 percent of
non-minority teammates. Bank of America has furthered its commitment to
pay equity by no longer asking candidates to disclose pay history in the
interview process.
Bank of America's female representation and commitment to gender
equality and diversity have been recognized by numerous third parties,
such as:
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Bloomberg Financial Services Gender Equality Index in 2016 and 2017.
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Bloomberg Gender Equality Index in 2018 and 2019.
-
Fortune and Great Place to Work 2018 lists:
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Best Workplaces for Diversity
-
Best Workplaces for Parents
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Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance
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Best Workplaces for Giving Back
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Euromoney as the Best Bank in the World for Diversity in both 2016 and
2018.
-
Working Mother as one of the 100 Best Companies for 30
consecutive years.
Creating opportunities to grow and develop
Bank of America places an important emphasis on creating opportunities
for employees to grow, develop and build a career at the company by
investing in a variety of tools and resources, many designed
specifically for women and diverse groups. This includes:
-
Global Women's Conference — Brings together its top 300
leaders from around the world and all lines of business as part of its
commitment to develop and advance women.
-
Women's Executive Development Program — Leverages the
faculty of Columbia Business School to engage, develop, retain and
support career advancement of high-potential talent. The program
offers a robust 10-month experience, including assessments, in-person
and ongoing virtual development sessions, executive sponsorship and
local market engagement opportunities to advance the careers of female
participants.
-
Diverse Leaders Sponsorship Program — Identifies approximately
100 diverse employees as part of an enterprise development program
that includes the alignment of senior leader sponsors to help
participants advance their careers.
-
Women's Next Level Leadership Program — A seven-month virtual
development experience focused on the unique challenges multicultural
women face in progressing their careers, and provides strategies and
tactics to overcome those challenges.
In addition, Bank of America provides enterprise networks that enable
women to do their best work and develop the skills they need to advance
in their careers, including:
-
Investing in Women Leadership Council — Comprised of senior executives
across the company who serve as advisors and champions of the
company's efforts, working closely with the lines of business, the
Diversity and Inclusion organization and other women-focused networks
to maximize impact.
-
Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development (LEAD) for Women —
Bank of America's largest employee network, with more than 29,000
members globally. The network promotes professional interactions that
help attract, develop, retain and advance female professionals.
Bank of America also offers line-of-business forums focused on women's
leadership and networking. These networks include:
-
Women's Exchange in Global Wealth and Investment Management — A forum
to share ideas and experiences, offer support, to one another and
promote personal, career and leadership development.
-
Women's Leadership Council in Global Banking and Markets — Connects
women to drive business, attract talent and inspire success.
-
Women in Technology and Operations — Provides connections across
enterprise women's initiatives and targets opportunities to increase
female representation.
-
Power of 10 — A grassroots program that encourages women to expand
their career horizons by being mentored and "pay it forward" by
mentoring their own group.
Supporting physical, emotional and financial wellness
Bank of America's approach to wellness focuses on more than just
physical health by also encompassing emotional and financial wellness as
vital parts of overall well-being. To achieve a well-rounded approach to
employees' health, the company provides a wide range of competitive and
flexible benefits and programs to support employees and their families —
many of which are designed to help female employees manage the demanding
challenges of professional and personal life. This includes the
following U.S. programs:
-
Parental Leave — Provides 16 weeks of paid leave and 10 weeks of
unpaid time for a total of up to 26 weeks maternity, paternity or
adoptive leave to bond with a new child.
-
Child Care Reimbursement Program — Helps eligible employees offset
child care expenses by providing up to $240 per child, per month, in
reimbursements for eligible child care expenses.
-
Back-Up Care Program — Provides access to convenient backup care
services when regular child and adult care arrangements are
temporarily unavailable.
-
Adult Care Services Program — Provides resources, support and
expertise that can help employees manage responsibilities of caring
for a parent or other adult loved one.
-
Adoption Support — Reimburses up to $8,000 of eligible expenses per
child for domestic or international adoptions.
-
Paid Bereavement Leave — Provides up to 20 days of bereavement after
the loss of a spouse, partner or child.
-
Flexible Work Arrangements — Provides opportunities, such as flex
time, compressed workweeks and reduced hours to help manage life and
work schedules.
-
Fertility and Maternity Support — Offers access to clinical specialist
teams to help with fertility and maternity benefits for those enrolled
in Bank of America health plans.
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Support for Nursing Mothers — Reimburses costs associated with
shipping breast milk back home to a baby while away on approved
business travel.
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Employee Assistance Program — Provides six in-person confidential
counseling sessions and unlimited phone access, 24 hours a day, at no
cost for employees and members of their household.
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Benefits Education and Planning Center — Offers access to
licensed financial counselors for personalized guidance on retirement
planning and benefits coverage at no cost.
Advancing economic opportunity and empowerment
Bank of America recognizes the vital role women play in driving economic
growth. The company has committed to connecting women entrepreneurs and
leaders around the world to mentoring, education and technical
assistance opportunities through its various partnerships and programs.
This includes:
-
Bank of America Institute for Women's Entrepreneurship at Cornell —
In collaboration with Cornell University, the program offers
free online learning and credentials for women's
entrepreneurship.
-
Women and Wealth Offering — Through U.S. Trust, the offering
focuses on addressing the specific planning issues associated with
managing wealth for women.
-
Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program — Powered by Bank
of America, the program enables women business owners to access
affordable loans to grow their businesses; to date, Bank of America
has committed $50 million to the program, and more than 1,800 women
entrepreneurs across 16 states have received loans.
-
Supplier Diversity Program — Supports the growth of businesses
owned by minorities, individuals with disabilities, veterans,
service-disabled veterans, women and the LGBT community. Bank of
America has spent more than $2.1 billion with diverse business through
the program.
-
Global Ambassadors Program (GAP) — A partnership with Vital
Voices, the Global Ambassadors Program connects women leaders of
social enterprises and small businesses to women executives for
mentoring to help them hone their skills and realize their economic
potential. Since 2012, the program has engaged more than 100 women
leaders from more than 60 countries, providing 4,000 hours of
mentoring expertise and connecting mentees to a network of Bank of
America coaches.
-
Cherie Blair Foundation for Women's Mentoring Women in Business
Program — This partnership connecting women entrepreneurs around
the world to online mentoring is a combination of philanthropic
funding and providing expertise through more than 500 Bank of America
employees who have participated as mentors. The program has matched
more than 2,000 women in developing and emerging countries to online
mentors.
-
Kiva — Through a partnership with Kiva, Bank of America is
making over $1 million available to women business owners around the
world. Thus far, our funding has helped support more than 7,200 women
entrepreneurs in more than 30 countries.
-
National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) — Bank of
America serves as the presenting sponsor to help advance women toward
greater economic, social and political influence worldwide.
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Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women's (IEEW) PEACE THROUGH
BUSINESS® — Bank of America supports the training and mentorship
program to educate women entrepreneurs from Rwanda and
Afghanistan on how to strengthen their businesses and communities.
-
Paradigm for Parity — With support from Bank of America and
other signatories, the organization aims to achieve gender parity
across all levels of corporate leadership. Sheri Bronstein, Bank of
America's Global Human Resources executive, serves on the
organization's steering committee.
-
U.S. 30% Club — Bank of America is a member of a group of about
60 U.S. chairmen and CEOs who are committed to better gender balance
at all levels of their organizations through voluntary actions.
-
CEO Action Pledge for Diversity & Inclusion — Bank of
America played a signatory role in the inaugural round of the pledge
that commits to continue its leadership role in making the financial
sector more diverse and inclusive, expand unconscious bias
education within its organization, and share best and
unsuccessful practices with peers.
Bank of AmericaBank of America is one of the world's leading
financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and
middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of
banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk
management products and services. The company provides unmatched
convenience in the United States, serving approximately 66 million
consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,300 retail
financial centers, including approximately 1,800 lending centers, 2,200
Merrill Edge investment centers and 1,500 business centers;
approximately 16,300 ATMs; and award-winning digital banking with more
than 36 million active users, including over 26 million mobile users.
Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and
investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes,
serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around
the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to
approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of
innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves
clients through operations across the United States, its territories and
more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE:BAC) is
listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and
other important information, visit the Bank
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www.bankofamerica.com
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