Property and casualty insurer Allstate and insurance broker Aonwere among the top 100 companies chosen as the best places formothers to work by Working Mother magazine.

The companies were chosen based on more than 500questions on workforce representation, childcare, flexibilityprograms, leave policies and other issues of concern to workingmothers.

Working Mother says it gave particular weight tochildcare, flexible scheduling options and advancementprograms.

For Allstate, Working Mother says that 58 percent of itsmore than 32,000 employees are women, and the publication creditsthe company with its “Energy for Life workshop,” where individualsfind “performance coaches teaching employees how to spend energy onthe things that matter most to them.”

The company offers daycare services at its Northbrook, Ill.,headquarters along with holiday backup care and summer camp.Parents at other sites get help locating daycare services atreduced rates. New mothers can take 12 weeks maternity leave. Fiveweeks are fully paid. Allstate also offers adoption services.

In 2012, Allstate also made Working Mother's list ofBest Companies for Multicultural Women and Top 50 Companies forExecutive Women.

“There is tremendous pride in this designation,” says JorgeQuezada, director of inclusive diversity at Allstate in aninterview. “First of all, we are a Hall of Fame company withWorking Mother, which means we have been on the list for multipleyears. Second, whenever you are involved with trying to showcasewhat you do in the workplace, I think there is a perspective aboutwhether this is about attracting talent? And the answer would beyes. Is this about retention of our employees? The answer would beyes.

“The more we do for working mothers in the workplace, reallyhighlights the focus that we have on working parents as a whole,”he went on to say. “That leads into development and opportunities.We know if people stay with the company and if we provide thebenefit—the work-life balance that is needed—we then provideworking mothers with the opportunity to move-up within ourcompany.”

At Aon, 59 percent of its workforce of close to22,000 consists of women, and Working Mother says thebroker's Women's International Network hosts skills workshopsshowing women “how to forge important work relationships” and “showemployees how to connect.”

Many of the company's worksites offer bank branches,drycleaners, convenience stores and cafeterias. Half of all workersutilize alternative work schedules. Business-unit leaders arerequired to nominate a specific percentage of women “for internalleadership initiatives” and “executive's performance reviewsevaluate their ability to retain and promote women.” Aon averagesseven weeks of full-paid maternity leave and offers adoptionleave.

In a statement, Greg Besio, executive vice president and chiefresources officer at Aon says, “Aon is committed to attracting andretaining unmatched talent across the globe. We pride ourselves onfostering a work environment and culture that allows mothers toreach their full potential while providing them with theflexibility and resources to help them balance their personal andprofessional lives.”

The two were among six insurance companies recognized for 2012.The other four were life and health insurers:

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance.
• MetLife.
• New York Life Insurance.

This story was updated with comments from Allstate.