Overstock Named to Best Companies for Women to Advance List

July 31, 2022  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

The ParityList recognizes organizations that are creating the culture and conditions in which women can rise through recruiting, promotion, compensation practices, leadership representation, and benefits and policies that collectively help companies achieve gender parity.

“It is a high honor for Overstock to be included in Parity.Org’s Best Companies for Women to Advance List for the third year in a row, one we don’t take lightly,” said Overstock CEO Jonathan Johnson. “This recognition highlights our ongoing efforts to further equal representation and advancement of women at all levels of the organization, including our executive leadership team and board of directors.”

Promoting diversity and supporting career development for all employees is at the core of Overstock’s company culture. The company offers many benefits and programs aimed at supporting women in the workforce, including flexible work schedules, extended parental leave, a formal mentorship program, women focused employee resource groups, as well as an onsite health clinic, fitness center, and daycare.

Overstock took the ParityPledge in support of women when it launched in 2017, committing to interview at least one qualified female candidate for every open executive position, vice president and above, to help improve pathways for female leadership opportunities. Overstock also took the ParityPledge in support of people of color.

Overstock’s culture naturally aligns with Parity.Org’s goal – as the company’s leadership team is comprised of multiple executives who are female and/or people of color including the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Merchandising Officer, Chief Supply Chain Officer, and other notable vice presidents, directors, and board members.

“The pandemic created a substantial setback for female advancement in the workforce,” said Cathrin Stickney, Parity.Org founder and CEO. “But the companies that made this year’s ParityLIST not only got back on track, they sped past all expectations. The extraordinary performance of this year’s honorees proves that a genuine commitment and focus, coupled with the right tools, measures, and practices, will absolutely move the needle toward fairness.”

While some organizations have begun rolling back benefits like subsidized childcare, backup childcare, backup elder care, and job sharing to pre-COVID levels, many of the companies on this year’s list, including Overstock, have continued offering those essential supports and have even added new benefits including travel policies that allow parents to take their young children and a caregiver with them on business trips, free of charge. Overstock is included among the roughly 20 percent of this year’s honorees that offer this travel benefit, having implemented it in 2018.