Sarasota Memorial Health Care System has been named Florida’s top employer for women by Forbes.
The health system, founded in 1925 as Sarasota Hospital and now known as Sarasota Memorial Hospital or SMH, earned the No. 1 ranking in Florida in Forbes’ “America’s Best Employers for Women 2026.”
Each year, Forbes, in partnership with market research firm Statista, creates rankings based on an independent survey of more than 146,000 women working for companies that employ at least 1,000 people in the United States. The survey list also incorporates more than four million employer evaluations collected over three years.
The 700 employers included in the rankings were evaluated on factors that matter most to women in the workplace, including career ladders
and advancement opportunities, pay equity and benefits, workplace culture and conditions, parental leave and family support and representation in leadership.
Sarasota Memorial ranked No. 1 among employers for women headquartered in the state of Florida across all industries. It also ranked No. 28 across all industries nationally and No. 8 among all national healthcare organizations.
“This recognition reflects the commitment of our entire organization to creating a workplace where every team member feels valued, respected and empowered to grow,” Vice President of Human Resources at Sarasota Memorial Laurie Bennett said in a press release.
“Women play an essential role in every aspect of our health system—from patient care and research to leadership and innovation—and we are honored to be recognized for fostering an environment where they can thrive.”
Sarasota Memorial says that women represent 75% of the health system’s more than 11,000 employees and 73% of leadership positions across hospitals, physician practices, outpatient care centers and other facilities throughout the region.
Women working at SMH graduate with Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees
Eight SMH team members, all women, recently graduated with their Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees from the Florida State University College of Nursing.
The women supported one another through late nights, demanding coursework, full-time careers, family responsibilities and everything in between.
Florida State University ranked No. 2 in Florida for employment of women in the Forbes ranking.
Michaela Galligan is an intern covering a variety of topics for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. She can be reached at MGalligan@usatodayco.com. Support local journalism bysubscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota employer named No. 1 in Florida for women
