Printer-friendly version

It’s 2012. The United States has elected its first African-American president, the planet has more than 7 billion people, and the world has become more technologically advanced in the last two decades than the last 2,000 years combined. Despite all these advances, a woman on average still makes only 77 cents on the male dollar.

Yet even with this large disadvantage and the poor economic climate, many women continue to strive and beat the odds. That is why The Washington Center hosted seven female role models, all part of the dynamic media and communications industry.  The panel, coordinated by the Media and Communications Program, included women from both traditional and nontraditional media and communications backgrounds.

Panelists

• Danielle Belton, freelance journalist and founding editor of The Black Snob, a pop culture-meets-politics blog
• Marga Fripp, award-winning Romanian journalist and founder of Empowered Women International, a non-profit organization that was created to give a voice to immigrant and refugee women by promoting their art and culture and leading them to entrepreneurial success
• Joanna Wasserman, education initiatives manager for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Emily Bradley, associate producer of “Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer,” CBS News’ Sunday morning public affairs show
• Laura Douglas, owner and president of the RedEye Post, a full service, digital video production facility
• Adele Gambardella-Cehrs, president and founder of Epic PR Group, a full-service public relations agency
• Susan Shand, executive producer of the Near East and Central Asia Division at Voice of America

It is women like these who continue to raise the bar for people starting their career in this competitive market. The best thing anyone can do is learn from both the mistakes and the accomplishments of our predecessors.

[View photos of the event on our Flickr channel]