Women's Task Force Continues Building Sealy's Diverse Workforce

ARCHDALE, N.C., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On any given day at Sealy , you'll find the members of the Women's Task Force helping drive business in a big way, whether it's managing Sealy's international development, corporate finance or legal affairs. What's even more impressive, though, are the supplemental initiatives they tackle as a team to enrich the professional and personal lives of women.

Three years ago, Sealy's corporate human resources department, along with the company's executive management team, created the Women's Task Force to help focus efforts on the recruitment, development and retention of women at the organization. Today, the Task Force is growing strong because of the group's commitment to building a meaningful program.

"The first thing we did was contact other companies who had similar task forces dedicated to women's issues," said Margo Borgione, director of international business development for Sealy. "We treated them like case studies and discussed how they were formed, the issues they tackled and challenges they faced. What we learned helped shape our own charter and bylaws."

Sealy's Women's Task Force already has achieved a broad range of accomplishments through the dedication of its members:

* Mentoring - The Women's Task Force created and implemented a mentoring program that partners aspiring female employees with experienced mentors. "Our first mentoring program was focused on corporate female employees," explained Jamila Braswell, senior attorney for Sealy and co-creator of the mentoring program. "We are now in the process of rolling this very successful program out to our field sales and operations groups. Several of the women who participated in the program have since received promotions, aided in part by the positive visibility they received while participating in the program." - Sealy's program was nominated for a WOW Mentoring Award by Women in the Home Industries Today (WITHIT). * Working Moms - The ability to continue breastfeeding after returning to the workplace is an important issue for many working moms. A lactation room at Sealy's corporate headquarters is being created through the leadership of the Women's Task Force. - Discounted childcare rates are available through two national childcare facilities. * Fundraising - Recently, $11,000 was raised for "Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Detection Test" when members of the Women's Task Force rode stationary bikes during a 24-hour event. * Community Outreach - The YWCA benefited from a clothing drive organized by the Women's Task Force that provided business clothes for young women to wear during job interviews. Seminars on how to interview, dressing for success, and resume writing were also provided. * Results Measurement - The Women's Task Force set specific goals regarding the growth of women within the organization. It went further by creating metrics to track the program's performance and provide Sealy management with quantifiable results on the professional development of female employees.

"We've been able to accomplish many of our goals because we truly are a team," said Sally Erickson, vice president of finance and corporate controller for Sealy and the Women's Task Force chairperson. "We align in teams to accomplish a single, focused goal, which is to help women both at Sealy and in general realize their potential."

The group is comprised of a cross-functional team of senior-ranking women within the organization.

"We are passionate about the subject matter," Erickson said. "We are highly motivated, highly educated and highly talented. We are in a position to make a real difference."

"It's imperative to provide programs that meet the needs of a diverse workforce," said Jeff Claypool, senior vice president of human resources at Sealy. "Women make up more than half of our team. We're tremendously pleased with the projects the Women's Task Force has undertaken."

About Sealy Corporation

Sealy is the largest bedding manufacturer in the world with sales of nearly $1.5 billion in 2005. The company manufactures and markets a broad range of mattresses and foundations under the Sealy(R), Sealy Posturepedic(R), Stearns & Foster(R), and Bassett(R) brands. Sealy operates 25 plants in North America, and has the largest market share and highest consumer awareness of any bedding brand on the continent. In the United States, Sealy sells its products to 2,900 customers with more than 7,000 retail outlets. Sealy is also a leading supplier to the hospitality industry. For more information, please visit http://www.sealy.com/.