Forbes named 400 companies to its 2026 list of the World’s Top Companies for Women, including 31 healthcare organizations.
Forbes worked with market research firm Statista on the sixth annual ranking, published Oct. 7. Statista surveyed about 140,000 women working for multinational companies in 61 countries. To qualify, companies had to have a significant international presence and be headquartered or have major operations in a country where the gender gap was at least 70% closed, according to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report.
Respondents said how likely they were to recommend their employer to friends or family. They also rated it on general workplace practices, such as salary and working conditions, and on gender-specific issues, including pay equity, how management responds to discrimination concerns, equal advancement opportunities and parental leave. They also rated other companies in their industries as employers. These responses made up the employer brand score, which accounted for 50% of each company’s total score.
The public opinion score made up 35%. It was based on how women viewed other companies on gender issues, such as whether a company fights gender stereotypes and whether its leaders promote gender equality. The remaining 15% came from a leadership score, based on Statista’s research into the share of women in executive and board roles. Survey data from the past two years went into each score, with recent data counted more heavily.
Here are the healthcare organizations in the drugs and biotechnology, healthcare and social services, IT software and services, insurance, and medical equipment and services industries, along with their rank and headquarters:
9. Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, N.J.)
16. Boston Scientific (Marlborough, Mass.)
35. AstraZeneca (Cambridge, England)
36. Novo Nordisk (Bagsværd, Denmark)
54. Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany)
73. Sanofi (Paris, France)
74. Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Ill.)
79. Oracle (Austin, Texas)
97. International Red Cross (Geneva, Switzerland)
150. MetLife (New York City)
167. Eli Lilly (Indianapolis)
172. Medtronic (Minneapolis)
175. Alcon (Geneva, Switzerland)
193. Dexcom (San Diego)
218. AbbVie (North Chicago, Ill.)
241. Astellas Pharma (Tokyo, Japan)
244. Amplifon (Milan, Italy)
245. Novartis (Basel, Switzerland)
247. Aflac (Columbus, Ga.)
271. Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics (Shenzhen, China)
274. Becton Dickinson (Franklin Lakes, N.J.)
296. UnitedHealth Group (Minnetonka, Minn.)
297. Bausch Health Companies (Laval, Canada)
311. Baxter International (Deerfield, Ill.)
346. Lonza Group (Basel, Switzerland)
348. Cigna (Bloomfield, Conn.)
372. Grifols (Barcelona, Spain)
391. Roche Holding (Basel, Switzerland)
395. Merck & Co. (Rahway, N.J.)
396. H. Lundbeck (Copenhagen, Denmark)
400. Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine, Calif.)
