Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) has once again been named to Fortune magazine’s “America’s Most Admired Companies” list. The full list appears in the March 3rd issue on newsstands this week. Avon came in at No. 3 among the top ten companies in its industry advancing one position from its 2002 ranking.

And for the fifth consecutive year, Avon received the top honor as the No. 1 company for executive women from the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), in its annual “Top 30 Companies for Executive Women” rankings. According to NAFE, Avon “excels as the best company for women, with the highest numbers of women board members, corporate officers, top earners and in the C-suite.” The C-suite denotes positions such as CEO, COO, CFO and CIO.

“We are honored that, once again, Avon has earned this prestigious recognition by these two respected sources,” said Susan Kropf, Avon president and COO. “For more than a century, Avon’s reputation has been built upon our founding principles of trust, respect and our commitment to corporate responsibility. And this recognition is a testament to Avon’s associates, sales representatives and customers all over the world who have helped our company’s continued success.”

For their annual survey, Fortune magazine measured companies in 66 industries and surveyed 10,000 executives, directors and securities analysts, who rated the companies in their own industries using eight key attributes of reputation: innovation, employee talent, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment value, and quality of products and services.

Companies on the “Top 30” NAFE list must demonstrate at least two women on the board of directors, a steadily increasing number of women in senior management, programs that groom women for upper management, maternity/paternity leave, and flextime. And this year, NAFE broadened the competition by counting the number of women in line positions — the operating jobs with profit and loss (P&L) responsibility that serve as the pipeline to the corner office.

Avon is the world’s leading direct seller of beauty and related products, with $6.2 billion in annual revenues. Avon markets to women in 143 countries through 3.9 million independent sales Representatives. Avon product lines include such recognizable brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Advance Techniques Hair Care, beComing and Avon Wellness. Avon also markets an extensive line of fashion jewelry and apparel. More information about Avon and its products can be found on the company’s web site at http://www.avon.com.