WICT FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF 2005 PAR INITIATIVE
-Cox Communications, Discovery Communications, Inc. Named Best Companies for Women in Cable-

-Best Companies List Ranked for First Time-

Chantilly, VA- The Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT) Foundation today announced the results of the 2005 PAR Initiative. Conducted in partnership with Working Mother Media, the PAR Initiative measures the advancement of women in three key areas: Pay Equity, Advancement Opportunities, and Resources for work/life support. 33 companies participated in the 2005 PAR Initiative; 16 of these 33 companies have participated every year since the PAR Initiative was launched in 2003. 

“In just its third year, the PAR Initiative has made a tremendous impact on the cable industry,” said Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, WICT President and CEO.  “WICT recognizes that developing people is one of the most essential – and challenging – things a company must do to effectively compete.  Through the PAR Initiative, we are committed to helping our industry’s companies foster fair and equitable workplaces.”

Additionally, WICT today named the winners of the 2005 Forerunner Accolades, given to the Best Programmer for Women in Cable and the Best Operator for Women in Cable.  Cox Communications, Inc is the 2005 recipient of the Forerunner Accolade for the Best Operator for Women in Cable.  Discovery Communications, Inc. is the 2005 recipient of the Forerunner Accolade for the Best Programmer for Women in Cable.  The Forerunner Accolades will be presented at the 21st Annual WICT Foundation Benefit Gala on Wednesday, November 16, 2005, at the Hilton Washington in Washington, D.C.

"It is an honor for Discovery Communications to be named once again by WICT as the Best Programmer for Women. We are dedicated to the important task of encouraging women to reach for the stars in their careers at Discovery and beyond.  By offering our employees the resources and support they need, we are building a more innovative, dynamic and creative workforce," said Judith A. McHale, President and CEO, Discovery Communications, Inc.

“At Cox, diversity is at the heart of our values and has been central to our success,” said Jim Robbins, President and CEO of Cox Communications.  “The Cox culture is about its people, so developing our people, respecting their unique qualities and nurturing their talents is essential to that culture.” 

Released with the results of the PAR Initiative were the Best Companies for Women in Cable lists.  WICT released five lists; the Best Operators for Women in Cable; the Best Programmers for Women in Cable; and the Best Companies for Women in Cable in each of the three categories measured by the PAR Initiative – Pay Equity, Advancement Opportunities and Resources for Work/Life Support.  For the first time since the launch of the PAR Initiative in 2003, the lists are ranked, rather than being presented in alphabetical order.

Best Operators for Women in Cable
1.        Cox Communications, Inc.
2.        Comcast Cable
3.        Time Warner Cable
4.        Advance/Newhouse Communications
5.        Charter Communications

Best Programmers for Women in Cable
1.        Discovery Communications, Inc.
2.        Oxygen Media
3.       The Weather Channel
4.        Lifetime Television
5.       Home Box Office

Best Companies for Women in Cable
Pay Equity
1.        The Weather Channel
2.        Discovery Communications, Inc.
3.        Scripps Networks
4.        ESPN
5.        Oxygen Media

Best Companies for Women in Cable
Advancement Opportunities
1.        Oxygen Media
2.        Cox Communications, Inc
3.        Scripps Networks
4.        Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
5.        Comcast Cable

Best Companies for Women in Cable
Resources for Work/Life Support
1.        Cox Communications, Inc.
2.        Discovery Communications, Inc.
3.        Turner Broadcasting System, Inc
4.       Oxygen Media
5.        Home Box Office

Some of the key findings of the PAR Initiative:

• The cable industry hovers around 38% when it comes to both women employees and managers as a proportion of all employees and managers.  This is considerably below the national norm: 49% of all U.S. employees are women, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  And when it comes to senior executives, cable companies sink even lower: only 27.2% of senior executives in the cable industry are women.
• The most pronounced trend in the year-to-year industry snapshot is that the presence of women of color is steadily growing.  In the first year, women of color represented 13.2% of all employees; now they represent 14.8%.  They were 8.7% of all managers in 2003, and now they are 9.7% of all managers. 
• Overall, women have lost a little ground; women are now 37.3% of all employees, compared to 38.7% when the PAR Initiative launched. Meanwhile, a big jump occurred in the percentage of women in mid-management, even from last year, when women were 34.1% of mid-managers; they are now 38%.
• In 2005, the proportion of women managers at programmers was 44.8%, significantly more than the 34.5% at operators.  Programmers also seem to be filling their pipelines more quickly, with 51% of first line women managers, compared to 35.6% at operators, and 41.6% of women mid-managers, compared to 35.6% at operators, and 29.6% of women senior executives, compared to 18.3% at operators.
• In 2005, 28% of the cable industry companies surveyed have no formal pay equity policy.  This is almost a perfect reverse from 2003, when 71% of the companies did not have a pay equity policy.
• In 2005, leadership training for entry level women is offered at 68.8% of the participating companies, double the rate in the 2003 industry snapshot.  Leadership training for mid-level women now stands at 84.4%, compared to 64% in 2003.  Leadership training for senior level women has always been high, and currently is offered by 81.3% of all cable companies.
• Currently, 81% of companies offer flex time; 53% offer full time telecommuting, and 53% offer back-up childcare.  There has been a shift towards reserving spots for employees’ children at local childcare centers, a benefit now offered by 25% of cable companies; last year 15% of companies offered this.  Only 16% of cable companies offer on-site childcare, and this percentage did not change from 2004 to 2005.

Several components were released today to provide a greater understanding of the results of the PAR Initiative.  These components include an executive report, which includes the five Best Companies lists, an Industry Scorecard and best practices from those companies making the lists.  A prescriptive, which provides information and resources for companies, can also be found at www.wict.org.  Additionally, each participating company received a confidential scorecard that allows them to compare their own results to the industry averages.  The PAR Prescriptive provides a variety of resources to participating companies, categorized by the areas of P, A and R, which will assist with their efforts to grow and improve in these areas. 

About the WICT Gala

The 21st Annual WICT Foundation Benefit Gala will be held Wednesday, November 16, 2005 at the Hilton Washington.  This year's Benefit Gala theme, "Passion. Presence. Power." salutes the passion of the WICT volunteer leaders, honors the presence of the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute Fellows and celebrates the power of the 2005 WICT Accolades Award winners. The evening will also include the presentation of the 2005 Accolade awards.  The 2005 WICT Foundation Benefit Gala is presented by the WICT Leadership Circle: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., MTV Networks and Charter Communications.  For more information or to purchase a gala table, please visit www.wict.org.

 About the WICT Foundation

The WICT Foundation is responsible for the advocacy initiatives of Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT), the oldest and largest professional association serving women in the cable and telecommunications industry. The WICT Foundation serves as a catalyst for industry change through research, development, advocacy and education. Its current effort, the PAR Initiative, measures and supports the advancement of industry women against the following standards: Pay Equity, Advancement Opportunities and Resources for Work/Life Support. Groundbreaking programs such as the PAR Initiative, and other WICT Foundation research on issues such as work/life balance and the business case for gender diversity, have inspired industry-wide advancements for women.

About Working Mother Media

Working Mother Media is a leading authority on women’s issues whose research has become a benchmark for businesses learning to implement work/family initiatives.  Working Mother Media has released the groundbreaking list of 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers for the past 19 years and the Best Companies for Executive Women list for the past five years.  The WICT Foundation’s collaboration with Working Mother Media ensures that the PAR Initiative survey findings will be valid, objective and confidential.

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