(Marketwire) - For the third year in a row, Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN), one of the nation's largest hospitality companies, announced it was named a NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women for 2013 by The National Association for Female Executives (NAFE).

The list, which will appear in Working Mother magazine's March 2013 issue, highlights organizations whose policies and practices encourage the advancement of women's careers. Results are based on factors such as succession planning, profit-and-loss, gender pay parity, support programs and work-life balance.

"Our commitment to providing a supportive environment for women at all levels to advance and reach their full professional potential speaks to the Wyndham Worldwide culture," said Stephen P. Holmes, chairman and chief executive officer, Wyndham Worldwide. "It is extremely gratifying to receive this honor as it recognizes our ongoing efforts to attract, retain and develop exceptional female leadership."

The NAFE Top 50 Companies lead corporate America in recruiting, retaining and advancing women. According to the latest report conducted by the Working Mother Research Institute for NAFE, Top 50 Companies lead the nation in their commitment to female leadership, with women now making up 25 percent of corporate executives (up from 22 percent last year) vs. 14 percent at the Fortune 500. The report also finds that women now occupy 26 percent of all board of director seats at the NAFE Top 50 compared with 17 percent across the Fortune 500.

At Wyndham Worldwide, women represent 50 percent of its total U.S. workforce and 65 percent of all director-level and above positions. The Company offers a variety of programs for female associates including leadership training programs, mentoring opportunities, a female associate business group and educational support.

"We are proud of our efforts to support and promote the professional growth and development of women," said Mary Falvey, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, Wyndham Worldwide. "We are confident that these efforts will lead to a stronger company, better business results and innovative approaches."

Carol Evans, CEO of NAFE and president of Working Mother Media, points out that "the NAFE Top 50 Companies are major employers committed to hiring, retaining and promoting executive women. They know that gender diversity at the top leads to a healthy bottom line. We are proud to honor companies who place women in leadership positions."

"This year we see measureable progress for women at companies that have made their advancement a priority, a smart strategy given the growing research that correlates greater numbers of women in top positions with higher revenues," says NAFE President Betty Spense. "For women, these are the top companies to work for."

For a complete list of the 2013 NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women and the Top 10 Nonprofit Companies, click these links. The complete report is published in the March issue of Working Mother.

Methodology: The 2013 NAFE Top 50 Companies application includes more than 200 questions on female representation at all levels, but especially the corporate officer and profit-and-loss leadership ranks. The application also tracks access and usage of programs and policies that promote the advancement of women, as well as the training and accountability of managers in relation to the number of women who advance. To be considered, companies must have a minimum of two women on their boards of directors as well as at least 1000 employees in the U.S.

About Wyndham Worldwide
One of the world's largest hospitality companies, Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) provides a wide range of hospitality products and services through its global portfolio of world-renowned brands. The world's largest hotel company based on the number of properties, Wyndham Hotel Group is home to many of the world's best-known hotel brands, with over 7,340 franchised hotels and 627,400 hotel rooms worldwide. Wyndham Exchange & Rentals is the worldwide leader in vacation exchange and the world's largest professionally managed vacation rentals business, providing more than 5 million leisure-bound families annually with access to over 103,000 vacation properties in 100 countries through its prominent exchange and vacation rental brands. The industry and timeshare ownership market leader, Wyndham Vacation Ownership develops, markets, and sells vacation ownership interests and provides consumer financing to owners through its network of 190 vacation ownership resorts serving approximately 915,000 owners throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific. Based in Parsippany, NJ, Wyndham Worldwide employs approximately 32,500 associates globally.

For more information, please visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com.

About NAFE
The National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), founded in 1972, serves 20,000 members nationwide with networking, tools and solutions to strengthen and grow their careers and businesses. Working Mother magazine publishes the annual NAFE Top 50 list. NAFE.com provides up-to-date information, community for women in business and access to member benefits. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media, owned by the Bonnier Corporation.

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation

Wyndham Worldwide Corporation

One of the world's largest hospitality companies, Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN) provides a wide range of hospitality products and services through its global portfolio of world-renowned brands.

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