The Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Best Place for Working Parents® Dallas Innovator Awards, recognizing the three local companies for their exceptional commitment to family-friendly practices in the workplace:
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- Micro/Small Business (under 200 employees): Downtown Dallas, Inc.
- Medium Business (between 201 and 999 employees): RECARO Aircraft Seating Americas, LLC
- Large Business (more than 1,000 employees): Schneider Electric
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The Best Place for Working Parents® Dallas program is a regional extension of the national Best Place for Working Parents® initiative. The program celebrates workplaces in the Dallas Region that prioritize family-friendly benefits and policies and raises awareness of the value of these practices for both employees and employers.
Participating companies complete a proprietary self-assessment that evaluates their offerings across 10 research-backed policies, including paid parental leave, child care support, and flexible work options. This year, more than 110 companies in the Dallas Region earned the Best Place for Working Parents® designation.
The Best Place for Working Parents® Dallas Innovator Awards further recognizes companies whose family-friendly offerings go above and beyond the requirements for a Best Place for Working Parents® designation.
“Our mission is to lead the Dallas Region to be the best place to live, work, and do business for all people, including working parents,” said Dale Petroskey, President & CEO of the DRC. “These three companies exemplify this vision through their innovative and meaningful approaches to supporting employees and their families.”
A panel of anonymous judges evaluated the Innovator Award applications, scoring each company based on the creativeness, comprehensiveness, and impact of their family-friendly policies. Only companies holding a Best Place for Working Parents® designation were eligible to apply.
Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI), a non-profit dedicated to driving economic development and vibrancy to Downtown Dallas, earned the Micro/Small Business Innovator Award. Despite its size, DDI sets a high standard with benefits like backup child care – a policy offered by less than a third of similarly sized businesses in the Best Place for Working Parents® network.
“DDI actively listens to its employees to continuously improve benefits and support systems, ensuring working parents can balance their professional responsibilities with family life,” said Jennifer Scripps, DDI President & CEO. “We are committed to empowering our working parents by tailoring workplace policies to meet their evolving and diverse needs.”
RECARO Aircraft Seating Americas, one of the world’s top aircraft seat manufacturers, received the Medium Business Innovator Award. Leading the way in family-friendly benefits, RECARO offers a fully employer-funded benefits policy, providing employees and their families with comprehensive coverage and peace of mind. This includes a Dependent Daycare Flexible Spending Account for child care, after-school care, babysitting, and nanny services. The company also provides an outreach Maternity Care Program to help expecting mothers access resources during pregnancy and gifts first-time parents a car seat or stroller.
“Our team continuously aims to provide benefits that are comprehensive and impactful for our employees, with a great focus on our working parents. This means building a strong partnership with our providers and continually re-evaluating our offerings to ensure all employees can have the best care for themselves and their loved ones because our employees are the cornerstone of our business,” said Sunitha Vegerla, General Manager at RECARO Aircraft Seating Americas.
Schneider Electric, a Fortune Global 500 leader in digital automation and energy management, earned the Large Business Innovator distinction for its exceptional benefits that set a new bar for family-friendly policies. Employees have access to comprehensive resources for family planning, adoption and surrogacy support, fertility treatments, and robust parental leave: 20 weeks of fully paid leave for primary caregivers and four weeks for secondary caregivers.
“At Schneider Electric, we understand that supporting our employees who are parents is essential for both personal and professional success. When we practice inclusion and care, we ensure our employees can make an impact at work and home,” said Mai Lan Nguyen, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Schneider Electric North America.
Connecting Family-Friendly Employers to Policy Solutions
The DRC is proud to recognize these three companies for their leadership in supporting working parents. Their efforts underscore the critical role employers play in creating a sustainable workforce, particularly as child care remains a top concern for families and employers.
The DRC encourages all Dallas Region employers to follow the examples set by Downtown Dallas, Inc., RECARO Aircraft Seating Americas, LLC, and Schneider Electric by offering impactful and innovative family-friendly policies that support employees and strengthen the workforce.
To learn more about the Best Place for Working Parents® Dallas initiative, and to nominate your company for the 2025 Best Place for Working Parents® designation, please visit the DRC’s website here.