Grant Thornton LLP Named A 2011 Working Mother 100 Best Company

Online, September 23, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Highlighting the top companies who are paving the way for new moms and families everywhere, the October issue of Working Mother magazine has announced Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations, as one of the 2011 Working Mother 100 Best Companies. This is the sixth consecutive year that Chicago-based Grant Thornton has made the "Working Mother Best Companies" list.

"Being recognized by Working Mother for six years in a row now is extremely gratifying," said Stephen Chipman, Grant Thornton LLP CEO. "Grant Thornton is differentiated in the market by the great talent we develop. Our progressive culture, policies and training programs are vital to our ongoing commitment to build better business professionals faster."

"With more than 169,000 women hired last year, this year's 100 Best Companies make up an impressive group of winners who offer family-driven programs and benefits that far outpace their competitors," said Carol Evans, President, Working Mother Media. "This year's winning companies are proof that success lies in the numbers-97 percent of companies are offering prenatal education, weight-loss, wellness, and stress-reduction programs to employees at every level."

Among the actions Grant Thornton earned recognition for on Working Mother's 2011 list are:
• Women in leadership: Grant Thornton promoted more women to partner in 2010. This year our newly promoted partner group included 32% women, the highest percentage in firm history.
• Developing women leaders: Grant Thornton launched the "Advancement of Women Sponsorship Program," which is designed to provide high performing women senior managers with an advocate as they navigate the road to partner. Specifically, the goals are to capitalize on the knowledge, experience, and relationship of our most experienced partners to develop stronger partner candidates.
• Helping working families: Grant Thornton contracted with Bright Horizons, the country's leading provider of employer-sponsored childcare and eldercare, to meet our employee's backup care needs. The Back-Up Care Advantage Program will provide options for center based and in-home care coverage for our employees.

"As a business, revenue growth is our focus; but as a professional services firm, we know that our people are our most important asset," said Erica O'Malley, Grant Thornton's national managing partner of Women's Initiatives and Programs and mother of five. "We, as a firm, have to be responsive not only to our client's needs, but also to our people's needs. As the lifestyles of our people evolve, we know that we have to work closely with them to ensure both their needs and their client's needs are in sync. In order to do so, we continue to proactively introduce new programs to provide an even wider range of lifestyle and work style options for our people."

The Working Mother 100 Best Companies are judged on answers to 650 questions, including data on the access and usage of flexible work arrangements, parental leave, childcare, health and wellness support and the advancement of women to all levels of management.
Grant Thornton will be celebrated at this year's Working Mother 100 Best Companies WorkLife Congress October 18-20, 2011, in New York City.

The 100 Best Companies, as well as national comparisons, are profiled in the October issue of Working Mother and at workingmother.com/bestcompanies. Working Mother is a division of Bonnier Corporation.
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Methodology:
Companies were selected for the 2011 Working Mother 100 Best Companies based on an extensive application with more than 650 questions that surveys the usage, availability and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them. Seven areas were measured and scored for the 2011 initiative: workforce profile, benefits, women's issues and advancement, child care, flexible work, parental leave and company culture. For this year's 100 Best, particular weight was given to benefits, flexibility and parental leave.

About Grant Thornton LLP
The people in the independent firms of Grant Thornton International Ltd provide personalized attention and the highest quality service to public and private clients in more than 100 countries. Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations. Grant Thornton International Ltd and its member firms are not a worldwide partnership, as each member firm is a separate and distinct legal entity.
In the U.S., visit Grant Thornton LLP at www.GrantThornton.com.

About Working Mother Media
Working Mother magazine reaches 2.2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers; WorkingMother.com (www.workingmother.com) gives working mothers @home and @work advice, solutions, and ideas. This year marks the 26th anniversary of Working Mother's signature research initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, and the ninth year of the Best Companies for Multicultural Women. Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation (www.bonnier.com), includes the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE, www.nafe.com), Diversity Best Practices (www.diversitybestpractices.com), and the Working Mother Research Institute. Working Mother Media's mission is to serve as a champion of culture change.

About Bonnier Corporation
Bonnier Corp. (www.bonniercorp.com) is one of the largest consumer-publishing groups in America and is the leading media company serving passionate, highly engaged audiences, through 50 special-interest magazines and related multimedia projects and events. Bonnier Corp. is the U.S. division of the Bonnier Group (www.bonnier.com), a 200-year-old, family-owned media group based in Sweden with business operations in 25 countries.