Valassis (NYSE: VCI), one of the nation's leading media and marketing services companies, announced today that it has been named as one of the "Top 50 Companies for Executive Women" by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE). This is the first time Valassis has been named to this list.

The NAFE Top Companies survey evaluates companies on every aspect of women's advancement, including succession planning, profit-and-loss roles, gender pay parity, support programs, work/life balance programs and more. Valassis has also been named in the past among the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers and Best Companies for Hourly Workers by Working Mother magazine. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media.

"It's an honor to have our name on this esteemed list which recognizes the importance we place on diversity and inclusion in the workplace," said Leslie Lenser, Valassis Senior Vice President of Human Resources. "We continually strive to makeValassis a workplace where every associate feels included, valued and respected, and believe it is imperative that we integrate diverse perspectives and insights in all aspects of our business."

Valassis places high importance on diversity and inclusion for all employees, and as part of the company's commitment, it launched the Valassis Women's Network (VWN), a resource providing information about the contributions of women in business, leadership advice, networking events and training opportunities to support employee growth and development.  VWN began based on Valassis' involvement with the Network of Executive Women (NEW).  Valassis is actively engaged with NEW, the largest diversity organization in the consumer packaged goods and retail industries, promoting diversity on all fronts of the corporate spectrum.

In addition, Valassis provides a host of convenient services, a testament to its strong focus on a culture where work/life balance is encouraged. Among these amenities are onsite workout facilities, discounts, health fairs/flu shots, dry cleaning and postal services, to name a few. 

Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media and CEO, NAFE, says, "The NAFE Top 50 Companies are major employers that are committed to hiring, retaining and promoting executive women.  They represent a cross-section of companies that go way beyond lip service in helping women succeed. Almost seven out of 10 companies require their managers to receive training on how to hire, advance or manage women. Manager accountability is the main ingredient for success."

A newly released report revealed that women hold nearly one in four positions at the Top Companies (23%) overseeing divisions with more than $1 billion in revenue. The new report, conducted by the Working Mother Research Institute, also finds that women hold 23% of all board of director seats at the Top Companies compared with 16% across the Fortune 500.  

On March 30, 2012, NAFE will host its 40th annual gala awards luncheon in New York City. Suzie Brown, Valassis Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, will participate in a special Executive Women Roundtable event at the recognition ceremony. To honor the 40th anniversary of NAFE, the results of the NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women initiative will be published inWorking Mother magazine's February/March 2012 issue; visit www.workingmother.com.

Methodology

The 2012 NAFE Top 50 Companies application includes more than 250 questions on topics including female representation, hiring, attrition and promotion rates, access and usage of key retention and advancement programs. The application draws particular attention to the number of women at the highest ranks and those with profit-and-loss responsibility. To be considered, companies must have a minimum of two women on their board of directors as well as at least 500 employees in the United States.