Take That First Step.

It is a rare occasion when an opportunity to take part of a historical transformation presents itself. The topic of closing the gap on gender equality has presented itself subtly over my 12+ year professional career, becoming more present in the most recent years, but if I am being honest, it never resonated so vividly until the birth of my daughter. Now let’s be clear, I did not have this epiphany on her birthday, but as she’s grown, I find myself acutely aware of the challenges she will face not only in business, but in life. I often find myself thinking about what her future will look like so ask myself, am I doing what I can as her father and as a man to make the world a better place for future generations?

I’ve always loved the quote…Do something today, your future self will thank you for and as I think about my daughter’s future, the aforementioned question presents itself on repeat. Perhaps, you could say my true moment of clarity came once she entered this world but the steps on whats needed to close this gap are more clear today than ever.

At Cisco, we believe that everyone plays a role in accelerating diversity, inclusion, and collaboration however I believe we are just laying the foundation. Across our company, we’ve driven broad improvements in overall representation that have resulted in the most diverse global Cisco ever. Today, our executive leadership team in our industry is comprised of 42% women and 68% diverse; however roughly 75% of our total employees identify as men. We know we have a long way to go to create a workplace of true gender equality but we’re on the right track and make great strides. I spent some time volunteering on for a NPO called the Franklin Foundation that was focused on the advancement of STEM (Science, Technology, Education, Math) in today’s schools. Did you know that women comprise a mere 27% of workers in the computer science, engineering, and physics fields in some of the world’s emerging economies? It’s clear there is a large, untapped resource of technology talent but are we enabling these women in every way possible? The facts speaks for themselves:

Source: Girls Power Tech, 2019

So getting back to my original question…

The answer was simply, no. We often find ourselves striving to be better, pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones, and aspiring to take that next big leap whether it be personally or professionally, but the hardest part is often the first step. I wanted to take that first step on advocating for diversity and inclusion in the workplace. I knew I needed to take that first step — so I finally did. The time had come.

At the start of FY20, I applied to lead the Cisco Engagement globally for Women of Meraki (WOM), an employee resource organization (ERO) within Cisco whose mission is to make Cisco Meraki the best place to work in the industry — independent of one’s gender. WOM has been around for several years, and ever since I joined Meraki I’ve always wanted to get involved. I saw this leadership opportunity as an opportunity to use my voice for the greater good. The WOM leadership team is comprised of a collective about 25 extremely intelligent, compassionate, and forward-thinking women (and male allies) who’ve committed themselves to improving the gender gap present in today’s workforce.

This role has also afforded me the opportunity to connect with passionate women (and men) at Women of Cisco, WOC, (recently rebranded from our internal ERO Connected Women and our externally facing group, Cisco Empowered Women’s Network), who so fervently believe around the notion of attracting, developing, retaining and celebrating talented women as part of a competitive and diverse workforce. Just recently, I participated in a 2-day workshop at our RTP HQ with the Women of Cisco Americas Advisory Board where we reflected on what’s working, what’s not, and what we can do to help break new barriers. The discourse was enriching, the executive sponsorship fantastic, and I left feeling inspired and more motivated than ever to help do my part and level the playing field of the gender equality gap in the workforce. I’m encouraged by the momentum WOC has built thus far and I know the best is yet to come.

I realize I’m very fortunate to work for a company, ranked #15 Best Workplaces for Women in 2019, that places such a strong emphasis on promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Some of the notable programs Cisco has developed to promote diversity and inclusion include Girls Power Tech, Women of Impact, JUMP & DARE women’s development programs, WISE (Women in Science and Engineering), Women Rock-IT , Cisco PRIDE, Men for Inclusion, and the Multiplier Effect. If you’re an employee of Cisco, I’d encourage you to get involved.

If you’ve read this far, then you care enough on the topic to take a step or perhaps you’ve already taken that step. The unfortunate reality is that I know this article won’t resonate with everyone — and that’s OK. This is a long journey and not everyone is comfortable with change but the sooner we understand and educate ourselves, the better off we’ll all be. I firmly believe that. I would encourage you to just take that first step as uncomfortable as it may be. Attend an upcoming meeting/webinar on the subject, subscribe to a blog, follow an advocate on twitter or Linkedin or YouTube, join a ERO at Cisco, raise your hand to your manager or get involved locally. The hardest part is taking that first step, but I assure you once you do, you’ll find the journey is so much more rewarding than you could have ever imagined.

I hope I can play a small role in shaping the gender equality for future generations, empowering women (including my daughter) to be bold and to be a role model for her and take action on the changes you wish to see in the world. We have much work to do and we’re making phenomenal progress. Thanks to all those who are on this journey together. I look forward to walking alongside you and breaking new barriers, together.

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Comentario de distribución. “Semana 25 de febrero de 2018” is published by El Futuro Es Apasionante.

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