About Me

nclark — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 01:05:38 +0000

Companies need to pay attention to women—not only because it’s the right thing—but because it’s good for business.
                                                            —Nancy Clark
                                                            CEO, WomensMedia

Nancy Clark, the CEO of WomensMedia, never envisioned herself as a leader for working women. In the sixties, as a physics and computer technology major at Berkeley, she was studying in the library while historic women’s marches and demonstrations took place elsewhere on campus.   “I agreed with every principle they were fighting for, all the way down the line, but I was busy with my studies. I am very grateful to Gloria Steinem and the other courageous women who were strong enough to be out there speaking up, but I had the feeling that I wasn’t needed.”

After graduation Nancy worked in various technology positions including rocket science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Always the only woman in a sea of men, she enjoyed the attention—she wasn’t complaining. “I always worked well with men, and they were comfortable with me. I was very optimistic when I started my career—I fully expected that within ten years I would see gender parity in the field. I was sure more and more women would be coming to join me in technology. I didn’t expect it to happen overnight, but I was sure the day was fast approaching. As the years went on, though, it didn’t seem to be happening at all, let alone quickly.”

At a tech job at the University of California, the Chancellor had a special request. He asked Nancy if, in her spare time, she would set up a program to monitor gender and racial equity issues for staff and faculty.   Her mission was to attend the various minority and women’s group meetings to learn what kind of challenges they were facing, then work with the Chancellor to come up with solutions. She also created a software program to track progress on the new initiatives.

The assignment proved to be a real eye-opener, and it soon became much more than a spare time pursuit. For the last thirty years gender equality in the workplace has been Nancy’s main area of study. “How are the numbers changing? How are women and men reacting to the changes in the workplace? And how can women and men work better together? These questions have been my focus. And I’ve seen some real changes. Women have definitely infiltrated the pipeline; almost half the American workforce is female. However, women seem to make it to mid-management and stall out; only 16% of upper management is female.   Something is definitely wrong with this picture! There are definite reasons women aren’t making it to the top, and that’s something I’m very concerned about. These are the things I’m committed to changing.”

Surfing the net five years ago, Nancy was surprised at the dearth of resources for women. Certainly the topics she was most interested in were not readily available to the casual browser.   She happened to mention this at a party, fortuitously enough to a woman who worked in publishing and her friend, who specialized in career development. They told her, “Set up the site you want to see for women on the Internet, and we’ll take care of whatever else needs to be done.”

Thus WomensMedia.com was born. It filled a need and rapidly expanded. It now reaches more than 300,000 women with free information. Currently almost 20% of visitors are from outside the U.S. From its early incarnation as a site for women focusing on personal growth and self-improvement, WomensMedia evolved into one focused on the unique challenges of working women. Completely in charge of content, Nancy asked a variety of experts to write columns for the site.   In five years, she has never been turned down. “After they realize I’m not trying to sell them anything and that WomensMedia is a real grassroots service to women, their only question is “What can I do to help?” Hundreds of expert women – and some great men – have contributed articles, including Madeleine Albright, John Gray, Debra Meyerson and many others. Today WomensMedia is one of the Internet’s most dynamic sites for working women and continues its rapid growth.

Clark and her associates have designed gender and management programs for many U.S. corporations and the Royal Bank of Canada. Nancy is a requested speaker at conferences, corporations and at the Pentagon. As CEO of WomensMedia Nancy has become a sought-after speaker on gender in the workplace. She has been featured on radio, television, and at conferences nationwide. Recently, she was honored to be a featured speaker at the Pentagon. Clark’s upcoming book Climbing in Heels will deliver the best of the site’s advice for women seeking to successfully navigate the working world and speed-climb the corporate ladder—without acting like a man!

Nancy Clark has been a featured speaker on gender in the workplace at the Pentagon, National Science Foundation, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, International Monetary Fund, Library of Congress, SBA Office of Women’s Business Ownership, Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Department of Justice, NASA, FBI, Internal Revenue Service, FEW—Federally Employed Women, FWP—Federal Women’s Program, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Smithsonian Institution, University of California, as well as many women’s organizations.

Very soon there will be more than one correct way to talk, act, and dress in the upper ranks. Men, don’t worry—this is a win/win proposition—we’ll be working with you.
                                                                                    —Nancy Clark
                                                                                    CEO, WomensMedia

Women's Lunch Talk

About Me