Working Mother magazine today named the Principal Financial Group® as one of the "2013 Working Mother 100 Best Companies" for its commitment to progressive workplace programs, including child care, flexibility, advancement and paid family leave. The 100 Best Companies are featured in the October/November issue of Working Mother and on workingmother.com. Also this year, in honor of the 100 Best Companies, Working Mother has declared October 15 as the first annual National Flex Day to encourage support for workplace flexibility.

"We're honored to once again be a part of this impressive list of companies," said Beth Raymond, vice president of Human Resources at The Principal®. "We are dedicated to making our organization a great place to work for mothers, as we know it can be difficult balancing work and motherhood. Being able to provide support, flexibility and a positive working environment for all our employees, specifically working mothers, is a goal always within sight."

Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media, says, "Now in its 28th year, the Working Mother 100 Best Companies are leaders in building initiatives that truly support all employees. They are the vanguard of successful companies, with modern policies for American families. That's why we are launching National Flex Day on October 15. It's time for employees and their companies to step out from the shadows and embrace workplace flexibility as a core business strategy that will enable them to compete and succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy."

Jennifer Owens, editorial director of Working Mother Media, states, "We have made workplace flexibility our platform to heighten the message that as many as 30 million Americans work from home at least one day a week and yet it is the most misunderstood workplace practice in our culture. Not only do all of Working Mother 100 Best Companies offer flex to their employees, they understand what a positive influence it has had on productivity, morale and motivation."

The complete list of Working Mother's 2013 100 Best Companies can be found here.

In honor of National Flex Day, the Principal Financial Group will demonstrate its support by encouraging its employees to take advantage of its comprehensive flexible work arrangement policies. It will also share the official National Flex Day badge on its website and display the National Flex Day poster in its offices.

About the Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)1 is a global investment management leader offering retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies. Founded in 1879 and a member of the FORTUNE 500®, the Principal Financial Group has $450.6 billion in assets under management2 and serves some 19.8 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.

About Working Mother Media

Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation (bonnier.com), is the publisher of Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com, and the Working Mother Research Institute. The National Association for Female Executives (nafe.com), Diversity Best Practices (diversitybestpractices.com) are also units within WMM. Working Mother Media's mission is to serve as a champion of culture change. Working Mother magazine reaches more than 2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers; Workingmother.com gives working mothers @home and @work advice, solutions, and ideas. This year marks the 28th anniversary of the magazine's signature research initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, and the 11th year of the Best Companies for Multicultural Women. Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter.

1 "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.

2 As of June 30, 2013.

Principal Financial Group
Erica Jensen, 515-362-0049
jensen.erica@principal.com
or
Hillary Gebert, 515-246-4942
gebert.hillary@principal.com