Women make up nearly half (47%) of the U.S. workforce, yet they continue to navigate significant challenges in the workplace. While there has been remarkable progress—such as women now holding 35% of positions in the nation’s top-paying occupations, up from just 13% in 1980—the gender wage gap and underrepresentation in leadership roles persist. To highlight the companies leading the way in fostering equitable and supportive environments for women, Forbes has unveiled its seventh annual list of America’s Best Employers for Women 2024. This comprehensive ranking showcases organisations excelling in areas like pay equity, parental leave, and workplace culture, providing female professionals with valuable insights into the best places to advance their careers.

Key Statistics on Gender Challenges in the Workplace provided by The Center for American Progress

Persistent Pay Gap by Age

• Women aged 16–24 earn about 8% less than men.
• For prime-age workers (25–54), the gap widens to 16%.
• Women aged 55–64 earn 22% less than their male counterparts.
• Those 65 and older face a 27% earnings gap compared to men.

Racial Earnings Disparities

• In 2022, median weekly earnings were $835 for Black women and $761 for Hispanic women working full time.
• In contrast, white men earned a median of $1,172 weekly.

Occupational Segregation and Employment Recovery

• Nearly 60% of women were employed in sectors hardest hit by the pandemic: education and health, leisure and hospitality, and retail and wholesale trade.
• Women’s total nonfarm employment has recovered at a slower pace (1.4%) compared to overall employment (1.8%) since December 2020.
• Women without college degrees remain significantly underrepresented in the recovery, with employment 4.4% below pre-pandemic levels.

Caregiving Responsibilities

• Women are five to eight times more likely than men to reduce their work hours or leave the workforce due to child care or family caregiving needs.
• This challenge impacts long-term economic security, contributing to higher poverty rates among women in old age.

Despite these ongoing challenges, the increase in women’s representation in high-paying jobs and the efforts of forward-thinking companies provide a pathway toward a more equitable workplace. Forbes’ ranking serves as a guide for women seeking workplaces that support their professional and personal growth.

Based on our analysis of the companies listed in Forbes’ America’s Best Employers for Women 2024, we have identified the following key highlights in naming and domain name usage.

Domain Names Highlights

A substantial majority of 528 out of 600 companies in the list operate on the .com domain. The .com extension is the most widely recognised and popular top-level domain (TLD) globally, making it a go-to choice for businesses aiming for broad accessibility and credibility.

31 companies used .edu domains. The .edu extension was created in 1985 and is restricted to accredited educational institutions. At the time, entities from any region were allowed to register. Since 2001, new registrants for second-level domain names have been required to be United States–affiliated higher education institutions. .edu remains niche and is primarily associated with education-related organisations, limiting its widespread adoption among general businesses.

493 companies have invested in Exact Brand Match (EBM) domains, enhancing trust and consistency across digital presence and ensuring that their brand is reliably represented and easily recognisable to consumers.

8 companies incorporate a dash (-) in their domain names. This is typically seen in two-word brand names where a dash is used to separate the words. However, using a dash can sometimes lead to typos and make the domain harder to remember, posing challenges for brand recognition and accessibility.

Naming Trends in Forbes America’s Best Employers for Women 2024 List

Descriptive and Functional Names

Descriptive and functional names communicate what the company does, making it easy for people to understand their services or products. This straightforward approach ensures that consumers immediately grasp the company’s core offerings, enhancing credibility and simplifying marketing efforts.

Examples: Foot Locker, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Planet Fitness.

Acronyms and Initialisms

Acronyms and initialisms simplify longer names into memorable and easily pronounceable forms, creating succinct brand identities. This trend is particularly advantageous for large organisations or those with lengthy original names. Using abbreviations helps these companies achieve a balance of simplicity and memorability, making their brands more accessible and easier to recall for consumers.

Examples: NASA, BECU, BASF, CDW, DHL.

Geographical Indicators

Incorporating geographical locations such as cities, states, or regions into company names enhances local trust and recognition. This trend leverages community pride and establishes a strong regional presence.

Examples: Boston Medical Center, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City.

Compound and Two-Word Names

Compound and two-word names combine multiple words to create unique and memorable brand identities. These names often include hyphens to separate the words, adding to their distinctiveness.

Examples: Lululemon Athletica, Red Bull, Firehouse Subs.

Single-Word and Unique Names

Single-word names are designed for simplicity and ease of recall, significantly enhancing brand presence and consumer recognition. The uniqueness of these names helps companies establish a strong and lasting impression in the minds of consumers.

Examples: Progressive, Intuit, Travelers, Target.

Namepicks

Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company), founded in 1955 by brothers John, Paul, and William Amos, is a prominent American insurance company headquartered in Columbus, Georgia. Recognised as the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States, Aflac offers a diverse range of insurance products, including accident, cancer, life, and disability coverage, primarily distributed through payroll deductions. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker AFL and included in the S&P 500, Aflac serves over 50 million policyholders worldwide, with significant operations in both the United States and Japan.

Interesting fact: Audrey Boone Tillman, Aflac Incorporated’s executive vice president and general counsel, holds one of the highest executive positions in the company. She points out that diversity is the cornerstone of Aflac’s practices. “Not only is diversity ethical, but it also allows us to understand better and meet customers’ needs” Tillman said.

Aflac operates on the Exact Brand Match domain Aflac.com, reinforcing trust and brand consistency—key factors in building reliability within the insurance sector.

Buckle

Buckle Inc. is a well-known American fashion retailer offering a wide range of clothing, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and children. Operating 451 stores across 42 states under the name Buckle and The Buckle, the company features brand-name and private-label apparel, including denim, casual wear, sportswear, outerwear, and various accessories. Founded in 1948 in Kearney, Nebraska, Buckle has evolved from a single men’s clothing store into a nationwide retailer, launching its first eCommerce website in 1999 and expanding to over 450 stores by 2017. 

Interesting fact: 63% of Buckle’s workforce consists of women, while 37% are men, reflecting the company’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace. 

Operating on the EBM domain Buckle.com, Buckle continues to emphasise quality and style, maintaining its strong market presence through both physical stores and digital platforms.

Clorox

The Clorox Company, originally founded as the Electro-Alkaline Company, is a leading American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products headquartered in Oakland, California.  The company rebranded to Clorox, a combination of its two main ingredients, chlorine and sodium hydroxide, aligning its name with its flagship bleach product. The iconic diamond-shaped logo introduced with the original Clorox packaging continues to be a key element of the brand’s identity. 

Clorox has prioritised diversity and inclusion from its inception, with women playing a key role in shaping the company’s success and continuing to drive its commitment to an equitable workplace.

Interesting fact: Annie, the wife of the company’s first general manager, proposed marketing Clorox bleach for home use instead of solely for commercial purposes. She also suggested distributing free samples to generate interest in the new product. Her innovative ideas, introduced at a time when few women held influence in corporate America, reshaped Clorox and positioned the company to thrive for over a century as a leading consumer product manufacturer.

As of 2024, Clorox employs approximately 8,000 individuals worldwide and reported net sales of $7.1 billion for the fiscal year. Consistently featured on Fortune magazine’s Fortune 500 list, ranking at number 474 in 2020, Clorox offers a diverse range of products, including its renowned bleach and cleaning solutions, as well as popular brands like Burt’s Bees, Formula 409, Glad, Hidden Valley, Kingsford, Brita (in the Americas), Pine-Sol, and Fresh Step. The company distributes its products through mass merchandisers, retail outlets, e-commerce channels, distributors, and medical supply providers, maintaining a solid and widespread market presence.

Clorox operates on the EBM domain Clorox.com and maintains an extensive portfolio of domain names for its various brands. Demonstrating a strong commitment to its digital presence, Clorox successfully recovered 367 domain names in a single UDRP case in June 2021. This action was prompted by a surge in sales of their disinfecting products during the COVID-19 pandemic. It attracted cybersquatters attempting to exploit the increased demand by registering typo variations and new gTLDs like .xyz and .shop. These malicious domains were primarily used to sell counterfeit Clorox products, posing significant risks to the brand’s reputation and customer trust.

Deltek

Deltek is an American multinational enterprise software and information solutions corporation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Founded in 1983 as Deltek Systems by Donald and Kenneth E. deLaski, the name “Deltek” is a shortened form of deLaski Technologies. The company specialises in providing software to government contractors, engineering, architectural, accounting, and consulting firms, helping them manage customer information, financial and project accounting, project management, risk management, enterprise resource planning, invoicing, revenue, financial compliance, and expenses. Since 2016, Deltek has been a part of Roper Technologies, with Bob Hughes serving as its president and CEO. Recognised for its robust solutions and extensive client base, Deltek continues to support thousands of businesses worldwide, maintaining a strong presence in both the public and private sectors.

Interesting fact: Deltek prioritises gender diversity, with women comprising 39% of its sales leadership, surpassing many tech rivals. The company supports women through comprehensive programs, employee resource groups like Women at Deltek, and celebrates initiatives such as International Women’s Day.

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Deltek offers award-winning leadership and formal and informal mentoring programs that help all employees to gain a broader view of our business and grow professionally. The fact that we have women in top roles in sales, finance, legal and other parts of our business is a powerful manifestation that we are serious about being an inclusive organisation and something that I discuss with candidates.

Carrie-Anne Mosley (CAM), GVP of Enterprise Sales for Government Contracting, Deltek website

Deltek has chosen a domain name that clearly corresponds to their global ambitions and communicates their vision – Deltek.com.

Intuit

Intuit Inc., founded in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx, is a prominent American multinational business software company headquartered in Mountain View, California. Intuit’s key products specialising in financial software include TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp. The company generates over 95% of its revenue from the United States and serves millions of customers worldwide. Intuit has a strong history of innovation, from its early success with Quicken to strategic acquisitions and expanding its product lineup. Despite facing challenges such as controversies over TurboTax’s free services and lobbying against IRS pre-filled forms, Intuit remains a leader in the financial technology sector, dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions for individuals and businesses alike.

Interesting Fact: Recognised as the top company where women in sales want to work by GirlsClub, Intuit is actively addressing the gender equity gap in the sales industry. With women now surpassing 40% of its sales workforce , Intuit is committed to creating an inclusive culture that supports and empowers female sales professionals.

Intuit has invested in Intuit.com – an exact brand match .com name. This is the natural choice of most internet users and securing that domain for their business is a clear indication that Intuit is here to stay.

While we make every effort to ensure the data on our site is accurate, complete, and up-to-date, we cannot guarantee its reliability. Our data is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal, financial, or other advice. We strongly recommend that you independently verify any information before relying on it.

Whether you’re a small business owner or a large corporation, a strong domain name can help boost your brand and increase your online presence. If you’re ready to take the next step, contact us to learn more about our domain name options and how they can benefit your business.

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