2019 Honoree

Nicola Palmer

Chief Product Development Officer, Verizon

“It is critical that we reach the next generation to ensure young girls take advantage of opportunities with passion, skill, courage, and confidence. It’s up to each of us to encourage young women to follow their abilities wherever those abilities take them, to fully explore their interests, and continue to learn.”

In your opinion, what qualities make a “Power Woman”?

A Power Woman is any woman that lives life on her own terms and uses her strengths to make the world better, in ways big and small.

With all the different issues one could focus on, how do you balance your efforts in pursuit of gender equality? Is it a global approach or a specific issue that you are passionate about?

Technology is shaping the future–it’s an integral part of every business and consumer segment. The Forth Industrial Revolution will be powered by disruptive technologies, such as mobile computing with 5G, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and the

If you could have someone else’s job for a day, who and what would it be? Why?

Not many people can claim they are building the future for individuals, first responders, governments, and large enterprises, but that’s exactly what we do at Verizon every day. The decisions we make and the speed and quality of our execution will shape ho

What issues in the workplace contribute most to the gender pay gap: Accessibility? Unconscious bias (including questions about previous salary requirements)? Economic? Reproductive? Or some other nefarious reason. Why do you think these are still challenges we face?

There is not a single issue that contributes to the gender pay gap or the lack of women’s representation in the technology field, board rooms, and other critical areas. Truly successful and innovative teams are made up of individuals from a variety of cultu

Was there a defining moment or experience in your life that led you to where you are today? What was it?

Actually the lack of a defining moment may be what’s unique about my experience. In school I liked math and science – not so unique. But my father is an engineer, and my mother encouraged all her children and told us that we could accomplish whatever we s

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Early on in my career, after a couple of engineering roles, I was encouraged to take a job supervising line operations. Initially I was hesitant since it wasn’t “engineering.” I ultimately followed the advice of people that had my best interests in mind a

There are many studies that support the idea that a female presence in the board room increases the bottom line and leads to healthier work environments. What can we do to continue to support and enhance the growth and presence of women in high profile po

It is imperative that women be well represented in positions of influence. To make that happen, it is incumbent upon those who are currently in those positions to purposefully develop and mentor women, to view their teams and their slate of candidates for

Who do you most admire? Why?

My mother, the Notorious RBG, single moms, underdogs

What is your favorite book (fiction or non-fiction)?

Too many to mention… But I love historical fiction and am a sucker for a good self-help book. “Married to a Bedouin” by Marguerite van Geldersmalsen is on my nightstand right now. I had the privilege of meeting her on recent trip to Petra. I’m also thor