National Association for Female Executives Names Verizon to 2009 List of Top 50 Companies for Executive Women

NEW YORK - The National Association for Female Executives has named Verizon to its list of 2009 NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women, which spotlights corporations with practices and employment records that benefit women and encourage their advancement to top management positions.

For this year's Top 50 Companies list, NAFE examined corporate programs and policies dedicated to advancing women as well as the number of women in each company overall, in senior management and on the company's board of directors. NAFE drew particular attention to the number of women with profit-and-loss responsibility.

"Companies that have women contributing their perspective and expertise to the actual running of the business not only are the ones that will survive our economic crisis, they will emerge from it as leaders in the global economy," said NAFE CEO Carol Evans.

Women hold 28 percent of the senior management positions at Verizon, including the president of Verizon Services Organization - a centralized operations unit that provides finance, real estate and supply chain services and manages network operations for the company's business groups - and Verizon's senior vice president for global business products. Women also play a key role in designing and operating Verizon's advanced broadband and global IP networks, holding top executive positions such as senior vice president of global engineering and planning, senior vice president of network program management, and senior vice president and chief network officer.

In addition, Verizon has several programs that benefit women and the families of employees. For example, more than 12,500 women employees received $51 million in 2008 from the company's Tuition Assistance Program, which prepays 100 percent of approved tuition and fees at accredited institutions, up to $8,000 per year, per employee.

Verizon also provided employees with 37,500 hours in emergency Backup Care for employees' children in 2008 - time that employees would have otherwise had to use as vacation, personal or sick days.  The company also offers employees Child Care and Adult Care locater services as well as a Geriatric Care Management program.

For employees returning from childbirth or child adoption leaves, Verizon has a generous Gradual Return to Work Program, which enables employees return to work on a reduced work schedule while maintaining full coverage for all Verizon benefits. Verizon's adoption assistance program provides up to $10,000 for expenses incurred during the adoption of a child.

Earlier this year, Verizon's commitment to training and investing in the education and professional development of its employees placed the company on Training Magazine's Training Top 125 list of companies that have the best training programs for their employees.  Verizon is committed to creating personal and professional opportunities for its employees, and the company's employee development, education and training budget has totaled approximately $1 billion over the past few years.

Also in 2009, Diversity MBA Magazine ranked Verizon No. 7 on the publication's 2009 list of Top Companies for Diverse Managers to Work. This is the fourth consecutive year that Verizon's continued commitment to global diversity has earned the company a Top 10 ranking on the list.

In 2008, Verizon earned a number of honors as a leading employer:

• The only telecommunications or cable company on Working Mother magazine's list of 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers.

• No. 22 on BusinessWeek's list of Best Places to Launch a Career.
• No.1 on DiversityInc magazine's Top 50 Companies for Diversity, for the second time.
• Conceive magazine's list of Top 50 Companies for fertility- and adoption-friendly workplaces.
• Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

More information about Verizon as a great place to work is available at www.verizon.com/jobs.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 80 million customers nationwide.  Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 224,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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