In this episode, Heather interviews Nancy McSharry Jensen, CEO, and Co-Founder of The Swing Shift, the destination for women in career transition.
Tune in to hear their conversation on:
"I was kicking around this idea of working with women who took breaks or wanted to do something different."
How Nancy and Sarah Duenwald met and formed the Swing Shift.
"COVID hit and we needed a hard, fast shift to digital."
Shifting how their services were offered when in-person events and coaching were not feasible with a focus on building community and guidance without 3-hour zoom calls.
"In January women lost 156,000 jobs and guys picked up 16,000 jobs. So, it's a net loss all at a working woman's expense."
The overwhelming impact of COVID on women in the workplace and what needs to change to fix it.
"When it's time to go back it may have been years since they have looked for a job and they don't really know how the game is played."
How Nancy's Back to Business book and e-course guide people through the entire process of returning to work and finding a job at their own pace.
"Don't let them funnel off – keep them in."
The Swing Shift's latest offering, Career Break Initiative, focused on helping companies recruit and retain employees and build loyalty with the company by developing support programs and benefits to allow career breaks for employees.
Connect with Nancy
The Swing Shift
Nancy McSharry Jensen
Nancy McSharry Jensen is CEO and Co-Founder of The Swing Shift, the destination for women in career transition. She’s been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, at Seattle’s infamous F-Bomb Breakfast Club and the Female Founders Alliance Champion Awards. The award-winning The Swing Shift is growing, with a book and eLearning published by HarperCollinsLeadership.
Nancy loves to get new and emerging businesses off the ground. She started her career at International Data Corporation, where she opened businesses on both coasts. At Microsoft, she launched operating system, server and early SaaS products at Microsoft, including SharePoint's market introduction. As an instructor at UW's PCEO Software Product Management program, she worked with dozens of student projects. Nancy took a 5-year break to care for her small children and aging parents: during that time helped grow non-profits like Girls On The Run and oversaw an $800,000 education focused non-profit. She’s worked on the agency side as well, with a stint as account director at Sterling Communications.
Nancy believes that women shouldn’t be penalized for taking care of their families, committed to getting women into the workforce on their own terms, and dedicated to 100% pay parity.
Mavens Do It Better original theme music composed by Jesse Case with voice over by Julia Francis.