About the list

For the list, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to survey over 150,000 women working at U.S. companies with at least 1,000 employees.

Respondents were asked to evaluate their company on several criteria, including how likely they were to recommend their current and previous employers and if they'd recommend any employers they knew through their industry or family and friends working there. Respondents were also asked to rate their current employers on working environment, pay equity, parental leave, and how the company handled sexual misconduct and discrimination.

In addition, Statista analysts determined the percentage of women in executive or board positions at each company.

Research and survey responses were combined into a scoring system to calculate each company's ranking. Recent data and responses from current employees were weighted more heavily than older information or from employees with second-hand knowledge.

Overall, 600 companies with the highest scores were included in the final rankings. The list includes healthcare employers across several categories, including "drugs and biotechnology," "healthcare and social services," "healthcare equipment and services," and "insurance."

The best healthcare employers for women

The No. 1 employer for women in 2024 was Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. According to Forbes, respondents rated the organization highly for supporting women's career advancement, working conditions, and its representation of women in upper management positions.

"More than 80% of our 15,000-plus staff is female, and females represent 65% of management positions and 65% of professional positions," said Lorina Wise, chief human resources officer at Nationwide Children's Hospital. In comparison, data from the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2024 found that women represent just over 31% of senior leaders across all industries worldwide.

In total, 49 organizations — including 29 Advisory Board members — in the healthcare and social services category made the list:

1. Nationwide Children's Hospital*

6. Boston Medical Center*

7. Sarasota Memorial Hospital*

9. Alzheimer's Association*

10. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital*

11. Sutter Health*

13. Amedisys

24. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta*

25. UW Medicine

26. Norton Healthcare

27. Cincinnati Children's

29. UC Davis Health*

30. Children's Hospital of the King's Daughter

33. Houston Methodist

40. University of Virginia Health System*

45. Home Instead Senior Care

50. Boston Children's Hospital

53. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center*

63. North Kansas City Hospital

79. BayCare

81. University of Tennessee Medical Center*

83. Texas Health Resources*

85. Guthrie*

88. Evangelical Community Hospital*

90. Cook Children's Health Care System*

92. Arkansas Children's Hospital*

94. LSU Health

95. Harris Health System*

97. UMass Memorial Health*

98. University of Missouri Health Care*

100. HealthPartners*

101. Atrium Health

109. OhioHealth

110. The University of Kansas Health System

111. Mercy Medical Center*

113. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center*

123. St. Luke's Hospital (Chesterfield, MO)

129. AHRC New York City

139. Dayton Children's

149. New York-Presbyterian Hospital*

150. ChristianaCare*

151. Duke University Health System

152. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center*

158. Inova Health System*

162. Cone Health*

163. South Shore Hospital*

167. MD Anderson Cancer Center*

170. American Family Care

173. Ronald McDonald House Charities

*Denotes an Advisory Board member

In the healthcare equipment and service category, 18 companies made the list, including nine Advisory Board members:

16. Datavant
73. CareCentrix*
118. Cardinal Health
262. Teladoc Health
284. Stryker*
342. Boston Scientific*
345. Steris
358. Abbott Laboratories
394. McKesson
396. Fresenius Medical Care
432. Labcorp*
504. Medtronic*
511. Philips*
543. Hollister
551. Medline Industries*
563. Edwards Lifesciences*
578. IDEXX Laboratories*
591. athenahealth

*Denotes an Advisory Board member

In addition, 27 companies in the drugs and biotechnology category made the list, including 14 Advisory Board members:

22. Johnson & Johnson*

46. Novartis*

57. GSK*

108. Lilly*

192. Takeda Pharmaceutical*

197. Merck & Co.*

201. PAREXEL International

220. AstraZeneca*

231. Novo Nordisk*

245. Bayer

247. Jackson Laboratory

259. Gilead Sciences

280. Zoetis

307. AbbVie*

309. Boehringer Ingelheim*

316. Illumina

317. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

325. Bristol Myers Squibb

376. Pfizer*

403. Amgen

426. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

436. Roche Holding*

468. Genentech

501. Tempus*

516. Sanofi*

518. CSL

547. Thermo Fisher Scientific

*Denotes an Advisory Board member

There were also 20 health insurance companies that made the list, including seven Advisory Board members:

4. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota

48. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee

103. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield

116. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City

124. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan*

131. Florida Blue*

178. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina*

200. Humana

228. WPS Health Solutions

235. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska

237. Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield*

253. Healthfirst

254. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts*

320. Blue Shield of California

328. Delta Dental of California and Associates

330. Centene

346. Elevance Health*

366. UnitedHealth Group**

384. Health Care Service Corporation

420. Medical Mutual of Ohio*

*Denotes an Advisory Board member

**Advisory Board is a subsidiary of Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group. All Advisory Board research, expert perspectives, and recommendations remain independent. 

(Peachman, Forbes, 7/23 [1]; Peachman, Forbes, 7/23 [2]; Kuchno, Becker's Hospital Review, 7/24)

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