California Leads US in Ranking of Top Workplaces for Women

California continues to cement its influence on the national workplace, accounting for more than one in 10 companies headquartered in the state earning spots on Newsweek’s ‘America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women 2026’ list.

Out of 1,000 companies highlighted in this year’s national ranking, 106 are headquartered in California, accounting for 10.6% of the list. This means that about one in 10 of the country’s top workplaces for women are headquartered in California.

The robust representation reflects California’s economic scale and industry diversity. While Silicon Valley tech giants reinforced their recognition, healthcare organizations also showed a significant presence on the list. 

Ahead of Women’s Day, Newsweek’s list celebrates the companies which have set new standards for women in the workplace and are taking action to address the systemic hurdles women continue to face. 

The ranking is based on a nationwide survey of more than 89,000 female employees, identifying organizations that dismantle gender barriers through policies and workplace practices while fostering environments where women can thrive.

Silicon Valley Earns Recognition

Technology companies based in Silicon Valley featured prominently on the list, highlighting the sector’s continued efforts to enhance workplace culture and create leadership pathways for women. 

Some of the most established California companies include: 

• Apple
• Google
• Netflix
• Adobe
• Zoom
• Workday
• Visa
• Airbnb
• Cisco
• HP

These companies represent the backbone of Silicon Valley’s global reputation in software, digital platforms, enterprise services, and entertainment technology. 

Many Silicon Valley companies operate in sectors where women have historically struggled to gain recognition and achieve leadership roles. The inclusion of legacy tech leaders and new platform-driven companies reflects evolving policies on recruiting and advancing women in the industry. 

Healthcare Companies Make a Big Share

In addition to the tech sector, healthcare companies constitute a substantial share of California’s presence on the list, underscoring the sector’s size and number of women employed across clinical, executive, and administrative positions. 

Some of the leading California companies in the list include: 

• Sutter Health
• Cedars-Sinai
• UC Davis Health
• City of Hope
• UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals

Healthcare is one of the biggest employers nationally, particularly in California. The sector employs women not only as nurses, physicians, and medical specialists, but also as research scientists and management roles. 

The inclusion of research-driven institutions and academic medical centers highlights the state’s advancement in biomedical research and specialized care. 

Methodology

Newsweek partnered with Plant-A Insights Group for the nationwide ranking. 

The survey was conducted between April and October 2025. Results from earlier studies from 2022 to 2024 were integrated into the overall findings, making the ranking one of the largest independent studies on the female workforce in the country, according to Newsweek. 

Plant-A Insights Group, which partnered with HR analytics firm Aniline, analyzed over 37 million data points across 120 key performance indicators, with added weight given to factors such as gender equality, fairness, and inclusion.

Critical Mention, a media monitoring platform, investigated whether employers were implicated in major issues, including legal and regulatory actions or workplace and labor violations. If a company was implicated in any of these activities in the past 24 months, it was excluded from the final list.