12.12.2000 ET

(CSRwire) Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced that it has been named to Working Woman magazine's annual list, "Top 25 Companies For Executive Women." Aetna, ranked sixth in the survey, has made the list each of the three years it has been in existence.

The list ranks publicly held Fortune 1000 companies with at least two women on the board of directors and a significant percentage of women in senior management positions. Aetna is one of the few companies in the U.S. with four women on its board of directors. In addition, Working Woman noted that women occupy 40 percent of middle- and upper-management positions at Aetna, and that the company had launched a networking group for senior executive women.

"We are very proud to have made Working Woman's list for the third consecutive year," said Elease Wright, Senior Vice President, Human Resources at Aetna. "We have worked hard to belong in the upper echelon of progressive companies for women. This year alone we held an executive women's forum featuring Elizabeth Dole, provided mentoring tools, and put into place recruitment and retention tools for women.

"I would also like to commend Working Woman for investing resources in this assessment of the best companies for women. It's a genuine public service that can only have the effect of encouraging other companies to work harder to make the list. That should result in an overall improvement in the workplace environment for women."

"Talking the talk doesn't land a company in the annual top 25 companies" said Working Woman Features Editor Lisa Lee Freeman. "The top 25 is a numbers game; it's about how many women are advancing through a company's management ranks all the way up to the executive suite."

Aetna is the nation's leading provider of health care and related benefits, serving more than 19 million health care members, 14 million dental members and 11 million group insurance customers. Information about Aetna is available at www.aetna.com.

Working Woman magazine, founded in 1976, is the number one national business magazine for executive and entrepreneurial women. It is part of Working Woman Network, which reaches women in business through a full-service 360-degree program of online and offline properties, including Working Mother magazine, WorkingWoman.com, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), Women and Minority Business Exchange, Business Women's Network (BWN) and a conference division. Its signature products, which appear annually in the magazines, include 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers, Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards and The Working Woman 500.