9.26.2006 - 08:08am ET

(CSRwire) ABBOTT PARK, Ill.-- Working Mother magazine today announced that Abbott (NYSE: ABT) is one of the "Top 10" 100 Best Companies for working mothers. For 21 years, the Working Mother 100 Best has celebrated employers whose groundbreaking work/life initiatives --from flexible schedules to child care solutions -- are helping redefine workplace standards across the country. This is Abbott's sixth consecutive year on the "100 Best" list.
"Abbott believes that no one program or policy, no matter how cutting edge, will meet the changing and expanding needs of today's working moms," said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "Abbott offers a variety of programs that support moms as their families and career needs change. Our goal is to have an environment where each employee can maximize their contributions and career."

From new moms to empty nesters, Abbott supports working mothers at every phase of their lives and careers. For new moms returning to work or parents needing time to manage their personal lives, Abbott's flexible work options -- offering everything from part-time, flex time and job shares -- help many employees transition back to work more easily and meet their demands both at work and home. Abbott also offers on-site child care for young children to alternative child care programs on school holidays, and during the summer for teens and tweens. For parents whose high school age children are preparing for college, the Clara Abbott Foundation offers a variety of educational services to Abbott employees, retirees and their children to help them prepare and pay for college, including need-based scholarships. For career growth, Abbott offers on-line mentoring and leadership programs.

"Abbott is exceptional for its continuing commitment to working mothers, and we salute them for making the 'Top 10,' " said Carol Evans, CEO of Working Mother Media. "Every year we see companies upping the ante, establishing new paradigms for quality of life among their employees and redefining the status quo for workplaces across the country. Among the many worthy entrants, the winners really set the gold standard."

About Working Mother 100 Best

In surveying the companies that applied for this year's list, Working Mother gave particular weight to questions in two areas: flexible scheduling, the most critical benefit for working mothers; and leave time, because it is essential for parents to be able to take time off from work, whether it is several months to bond with newborns or several years to be at home with children during their most formative years.

To apply for the Working Mother 100 Best, Abbott provided Working Mother magazine with detailed information on seven areas of work/life balance including workforce profile, compensation, child care, flexibility, time off and leaves, family-friendly programs and company culture. The company completed a 500-question application, the most rigorous of its kind, which checked the availability, tracking and usage of programs to support working mothers, the accountability of managers to implement programs and the successful advancement of women into top paying jobs, board position and management ranks.

The complete list of the 2006 Working Mother 100 Best Companies can be found at http://www.workingmother.com.

About Working Mother Magazine

Founded in 1979, Working Mother magazine reaches nearly 3 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Its 21-year signature initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, is the most important benchmark for work/life practices in corporate America. The publication also releases the annual list of the Best Companies for Women of Color in the June issue. Working Mother is published by Working Mother Media (WMM), which also owns the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), NAFE Magazine, the annual 100 Best Companies WorkLife Congress, as well as the Best Companies for Women of Color Multicultural Conference and regional Town Halls. This year, WMM launched its Best Small Companies for Working Mothers initiative.

About Abbott

In addition to being recognized among the country's best employers for working moms, Abbott was recently named to the Top 10 among the "50 Best Places to Launch a Career" by BusinessWeek magazine. The company has been included on DiversityInc magazine's list of the "Top 50 Companies for Diversity" for many years and has been widely recognized by Scientist magazine and others as a top employer for scientists.

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs more than 65,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.

Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com.