Inclusion and Diversity

“Put your oxygen mask before others.” I have heard this mantra again and again this year in different women’s conferences and seminars.  And this was the first message from Adam Grant, the opening speaker at last month’s Massachusetts Conference for Women (CFW). This seems logical if you think in te…

Welcome to our December edition of Carpe Diem, our monthly segment featuring role models across CiscoEWN. We all make resolutions and set goals to improve ourselves– but somewhere along the way, life interrupts our plans, we find ourselves juggling different priorities and invariably things get drop…

Two Cisco leaders were just recognized with high honors for their advocacy of inclusion and diversity at Cisco and within the community – leadership that champions the needs of our team members and friends with disabilities. Greg Akers, senior vice president of Advanced Security Research and Governm…

Have you heard the expression, “People don’t remember what you say, they remember how you made them feel?”  Last week, I had the opportunity to participate with more than 8,000 women (80 from Cisco) — in a one-day conference sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc. and other companies.  There were man…

It’s been a little more than a year since we created Cisco’s first Office of Inclusion and Collaboration (OIC).   And it’s been a milestone year.  Today, we’re releasing our annual Corporate Social Responsibility report (CSR), which details Cisco’s high-level priorities for being socially and enviro…

I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for a great quote.  It seems that I’m not the only one – take a look at Twitter and you’ll see a huge number of handles relating to quotes.  Do a quick search on Google and you’ll find endless “Top Quotes” lists. Go to the Forbes home page and you’ll be…

I have always been a passionate believer in The Power of Partnerships to improve diversity in the talent pipeline, the workplace and leadership positions at enterprises everywhere. My experience shows that partnerships must be formed both within the enterprise and outside of it in order to make a re…

Last week, many of the nation’s top African-American leaders and emerging talent experienced first-hand “The Power of One” – the power of one person, one organization or one partnership to transform the world. The occasion was the Executive Leadership Council’s (ELC) annual celebration of individual…

#CiscoInspiredWoman will be a hashtag reverberating throughout social media spheres this week as 6,500 attendees experience what I call, “Moments that Matter”, at the Conference for Women (CFW) in Austin, Texas. Cisco is the Exclusive Networking Partner of CFW for the fourth year in row, has 90 atte…