GM Included In 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers

FOR RELEASE: October 9, 2001

Working Mother Magazine Honors GM Company Enables Working Mothers To Balance Families, Careers

Detroit - Working Mother Magazine today announced that General Motors has been named for the 10th time to the publication's list of "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers".

"I'm pleased that Working Mother Magazine has selected General Motors for this prestigious honor," said Kathleen S. Barclay, vice president in charge of GM Global Human Resources. "As a working mother, I know the importance of an employer providing its employees with the ability to balance their families and their careers and to provide services that benefit not only our employees, but their families."

This year, Working Mother Magazine raised its standards, evaluating companies on how far benefits reach in the ranks. They evaluated the following areas: percentage of women in the workforce, childcare support, flexibility, leave for new parents, work/life balance and advancement of women.

"Savvy companies like General Motors understand that human resources are their most valuable, and that employees need solutions to make juggling work and home easier." says Carol Evans, CEO/President for Working Mother Media, which publishes Working Mother. The latest company rankings will appear in the October 2001 issue.

Just ask Grace D. Lieblein and Dianne Romanelli about the quality time they have for their families.

"There's been a paradigm shift," said Lieblein, 41, executive director of Exterior Materials and Fastening Engineering. "It's not just about working the 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. work schedule anymore. What it comes down to are the work results and performance you generate. Now more than ever, GM's culture is flexible to this opportunity for balance."

For Grace that means being able to spend valuable time with her husband, Tom, an engineering manager for GM, and their 10-year-old daughter, Allison. "Our family time is important to us. We do art events, volunteer at a local nursing home and do other things that we all enjoy. These things mean a lot to our family."

In a way, her ability to balance family and work has enhanced her career opportunities. Earlier this year, Grace was selected as one of the 50 top Hispanic women by Hispanic Business Magazine.

For Dianne Romanelli, 36, a manager in GM's Corporate Diversity Marketing Group, a flexible work schedule gives her the best of both worlds. Working part time allows her to spend time at home with husband Michael, a cardiologist, and their 2-year-old daughter, Annabel, who was adopted last year from China.

"My entire team (at GM) is so supportive, and that has made my experience at GM even better," Dianne said. "During the week, I can focus on Annabel at home while I'm also able to keep my career going."

While the chance to work part time is great, Dianne said she looks forward to returning to GM as a full-time employee. "For now, the balance is nice," she said.

About General Motors
General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2000, GM earned $5 billion on sales of $183.3 billion, excluding special items. It employs about 372,000 people globally.

GM also operates one of the largest and most successful financial services companies, GMAC, which offers automotive, mortgage and business financing and insurance services to customers worldwide.

GM is investing aggressively in digital technology and e-business within its global automotive operations and through such initiatives as e-GM, GM BuyPower, OnStar and its Hughes Electronics Corp. subsidiary.

More information on General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

About Working Mother
Working Mother magazine, founded in 1979, reaches more than 3 million readers each month, and is the only national business magazine written for executive and entrepreneurial mothers. Its signature "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" has been issued for the past 16 years. Working Mother is published by Working Mother Media, which also operates Working Woman magazine, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) and its Executive Female bimonthly, and the annual Work-Life Congress.