McLean, Virginia-based Hilton Worldwide and Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International consistently rank at or near the top of best workplaces rankings, and they take the top two spots in Fortune’s 2023 Best Workplaces for Women list — Hilton is No.1 and Marriott is No. 2.
The rankings are based on employee surveys. Feedback is then coupled with industry, revenue size and employee demographics, workplace cultures and gender balance from front-line jobs to the boardroom.
To make the list, at least 20% of non-executive management must be women, and at least one C-Suite executive must be a woman.
At Hilton, 95% of employees called the company a great place to work. At Marriott, almost 30% of employees have been there 11-plus years and 13% have been with the company for more than 20 years.
The first jobs that come to mind in hospitality include positions like housekeeping and maintenance, but that barely scratches the surface of career paths in the industry.
“We’ve got over 1,000 job types at any given hotel. It is like running a small city. From the general manger, to engineering, to housekeeping to front desk to tech to HR, and so that in itself contains so many different opportunities,” said Hilton Chief Human Resource Officer Laura Fuentes.
In addition to on-site hotel property jobs, Hilton, a Fortune 500 company, employs thousands of corporate employees, including about 800 at its headquarters in McLean.
Fortune weighs not only the share of rank-and-file female workers, but also programs companies tailor specifically for their career advancement.
“Especially following the pandemic in areas like mental wellness and caregiving, which we know disproportionately falls on women at times, as well as career growth and learning resources to make sure that the women at Hilton feel supported,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes said Hilton currently has more than 5,000 job openings company-wide.
Hilton and Marriott topped the list for best workplaces for women, but the Fortune list includes other locally based companies.
Vienna, Virginia-based Navy Federal Credit Union ranks No. 33. Collaborative Solutions, based in Reston, ranks No. 34. McLean-based Capital One Financial ranks No. 70. Falls Church-based Cognosante is No. 78. New York-based Accenture, whose government contracting arm Accenture Federal Services is based in Arlington, is No. 14.
Fortune’s rankings were compiled with Great Place to Work, which has been surveying employees about workplace experiences for 30 years.
This year’s full Best Workplaces for Women list, and company profiles are online.
