Five N.J. companies earn praise for working well with women-owned businesses

There are certain perks that come with being a female business owner — benefits that go beyond the obvious sense of empowerment and accomplishment. Big companies looking to contract with smaller companies for various services often look specifically for women-owned businesses to diversify their supplier base — some more so than others.Turns out five New Jersey companies are doing a particularly good job of incorporating women-owned businesses into their mix of suppliers, according to the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, which released its 15th annual list of the country’s top corporations for women’s business enterprises on Monday.

The list looks at the companies that are proactively incorporating women’s business enterprises (or WBEs) into their supply chains.

In New Jersey, those top performers are: Alcatel-Lucent, Avis Budget Group, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Bristol Myers-Squibb.

“Our top corporations know that stronger WBEs will drive new sources of revenue, deepen customer satisfaction and generate a stronger economy,” Pamela Prince-Eason, president and CEO of WBENC, said in a statement.

You can take a look at the complete list here, but here’s a sampling of some of the other companies that made the cut: AT&T, Capital One, Chevron, Lockheed Martin, Target, UPS and United Airlines.