Negotiating Through Tough Times: Skills Workshop for Women Journalists

The National Press Club’s Freelance Committee is joining with Journalism & Women Symposium (JAWS) to address an issue that Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg touched on when she explored the shortage of female leaders in a TedWomen talk in Dec. 2010. “Women do not negotiate for themselves,’’ Sandberg said. “A study in the last two years of people entering the workforce out of college showed that 57 percent of men entering are negotiating for their salary and only 7 percent of women.” Men also are more likely to attribute their success to themselves rather than others who might have helped, she said.

Margaret Engel, a writer and executive director of the Alicia Patterson Foundation, and Cait Clarke, a lawyer and co-author of “Dare to Ask: A Woman’s Guidebook to Successful Negotiating,” will share their stories and tips and lead a discussion on how women journalists can more effectively make their case for salaries, benefits and freelance terms.

Margaret Engel is a former reporter and editor at the Washington Post and managing editor at the Newseum, and serves as chair of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards. She also has negotiated her way through book contracts and currently can be spotted at speaking events around Washington D.C. with actress Kathleen Turner, who stars as the rip-roaring late columnist Molly Ivins in the play “Red Hot Patriot” at the Arena Stage. Margaret and her twin sister, Allison Engel, wrote the screenplay.

Cait Clarke is a public interest lawyer and leadership consultant in Washington. A graduate of Harvard Law School, her clients include Fortune 500 companies and international organizations. Her book, co-written with former Time magazine correspondent Neil Shister, was published in 2010 as a how-to guide specifically designed to address women’s reservations and fears of negotiating.

The negotiating workshop will start promptly at 6:30 p.m., with plenty of time for questions and answers, and a likely gathering afterwards in the Club’s Holeman Lounge to continue the conversation. Participants are invited to share brief anecdotes of successful negotiations that might have surprised them and may be useful for others. Copies of Cait Clarke’s book will be available for purchase at $15 by cash, credit card or check.

Seating is limited. Participants must register in advance. The workshop is free for members of either the Press Club or JAWS, and $10 for non-members. For more information, contact Freelance Committee and JAWS member Viola Gienger at [email protected]