John Chambers states Sanberg book opened his eyes

 

Cisco CEO John Chambers says Sandberg book 'opened his eyes,' vows to do better on diversity

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Preeti Upadhyaya

Technology Reporter- Silicon Valley Business Journal

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Silicon Valley has been swept up in an ongoing discussion about women in the workplace, spurred on by Sheryl Sandberg's new book, "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead," coupled with the fierce debate sparked by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's decision to ban telecommuting for her employees.
Now, Cisco CEO John Chambers is chiming in, pushing female focused initiatives and implementing them into Cisco's development plans.
Kara Swisher of AllThingsD obtained an internal email from Chambers in which he turns the spotlight on his own leadership and treatment of the issue of women in the workplace.
"While I have always considered myself sensitive to and effective on gender issues in the workplace, my eyes were opened in new ways and I feel a renewed sense of urgency to make the progress we haven't made in the last decade," Chambers wrote.
"After reading Lean In and listening to Sheryl, I realize that, while I believe I am relatively enlightened, I have not consistently walked the talk," he said.
Chambers pulled the following numbers to prove his point: less than 25 percent of Cisco's employees and leaders are women, and only women make up only 20 percent of Cisco's one-million networking academy students.
Quoting Sandberg, Chambers wrote, "I think Sheryl says it best: 'We can no longer pretend that biases don't exist, nor can we talk around them....the result of creating a more equal environment will not just be better performance for our organizations, but quite likely greater happiness for all."

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