Tech, Drug Firms Top List of Best for Working Mothers

NEW YORK — The five best companies for working mothers are Apple Computer, IBM, drug makers Merck and Hoffmann-La Roche, and the ad agency of Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, said the magazine Working Mother on Wednesday.

The five firms topped a list of 50 companies that have the best working conditions for women with children, but the magazine warned that the companies were atypical.

“According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of 1.2 million firms that employ 10 or more people, only 2% offer employer-sponsored children care,” said Milton Moskowitz, co-author of “The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” who did the survey for the magazine.

“Compare that with our 50 companies, 22 of which maintain a children-care center or are opening one soon or fund nearby centers so employees’ children are given priority admission.”

The 50 companies were selected on the basis of pay, opportunities for advancement, support for child care and benefits such as parental leave, adoption aid, flexitime and part-time work.

“Especially notable are the five companies singled out as the ‘best of the best,” Moskowitz said. “Apple Computer presents a $500 gift to every new baby of an employee.

“Hilly, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos ad agency pays the staff at its child-care center the highest salaries of any care givers in the Boston area.

“Hoffman-La Roche is expanding its child-care center and supports an activist women’s group in the company. IBM helped 27,000 employees find child care. Merck allows new mothers to stretch maternity leave to 18 months with no loss of seniority or benefits,” he said.

Moskowitz said that working mothers--once an oddity--now number more than 20 million and that businesses are recognizing the need to accommodate them.

“In 1986, there were 30 companies on our roster; last year, 40,” said Judsen Culbreth, editor of Working Mother. “Now we have 50, including 17 new companies.” She added that seven on last year’s list were dropped.

THE BEST COMPANIES FOR WORKING MOTHERS

The best 50 companies, listed alphabetically, for mothers with children, according to Working Mother magazine. The top five were Apple Computer, IBM, drug makers Merck and Hoffmann-La Roche, and the ad agency of Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos.

1.America West Airlines

2.American Express

3.Apple Computer

4.Arco

5.Avon Products

6.Barrios Technology

7.Beth Israel Hospital of Boston

8.Leo Burnett USA

9.Campbell Soup Co.

10.Champion International

11.Coors

12.Digital Equipment

13.Dominion Bankshares

14.Du Pont

15.Eastman Kodak

16.Fel-Pro

17.First Atlanta

18.Gannett

19.General Mills

20.General Motors21.Group 243

22.F.T. Water Products Inc.

23.Hallmark Cards

24.Hechinger

25.Hewitt Associates

26.Hewlett-Packard

27.Hill, Holliday, Connors,Cosmopulos

28.Hoffmann-La Roche

29.Home Federal S&L; of Memphis

30.Indeeco

31.IBM

32.Johnson & Johnson

33.Johnson Wax

34.Kellogg’s

35.Lincoln National Corp.

36.Merck

37.Herman Miller

38.3M

39.Morrison & Foerster

40.Nordstrom

41.Pitney Bowes

42.Polaroid

43.Procter & Gamble

44.Prudential

45.Security Pacific

46.South Shore Bank

47.Steelcase

48.Syntex

49.US West

50.Xerox