Investing in women to inspire inclusion
Eigen Halpin is a Customer Programme Director and Co-Lead of Women of Cisco UK & Ireland. Since 2020, the community has seen significant growth and now has over 600 members. Eigen has worked in IT service delivery for almost 25 years; she is passionate about increasing female diversity in technology and is a STEM ambassador for CyberFirst Wales. One of her proudest moments is bringing the Cisco Girls in IT event to Wales (annual event for 11-13 year olds to showcase careers in IT).
Women of Cisco UK & Ireland (UKI) is more than an Employee Resource Group or ‘Inclusive Community’ in Cisco terms; it’s a vibrant and diverse community underpinned by friendship and a shared purpose to elevate, retain, and celebrate the remarkable women and allies who contribute to Cisco UKI. It’s a place where we strive to make a positive difference in our wider communities.
Women of Impact (WOI) is an annual Cisco celebration held each March to empower, encourage, educate, and embrace the unique journeys, intersectionality, and stories of women across the globe. Events are held globally, regionally and locally for each Women of Cisco “chapter”.
As co-lead for Women of Cisco UKI, my heart swells with pride when I reflect on our Women of Impact 2024 event. The dedication and excellence displayed by our Project Leads (Debi Hunter and Oriana Dempsey) was immense. They orchestrated the event spanning 7 locations, over 60 volunteers, and 400+ hybrid attendees. A special mention to our Women of Impact Ireland co-leads Audrey Bleach and Damhnait Digan for hosting their events in Galway and Dublin at the start of March as well.
Investing in Women
This year’s theme, #InspireInclusion, alongside the UN’s focus to #InvestinWomen, set a powerful backdrop for our gathering. The event was hosted by my fellow co-lead Alpa Tankaria and community member Nish Parker and featured thought-provoking keynotes and panel discussions that spanned a range of topics from career development and personal finance to the frontiers of AI.
I loved moderating the opening panel on Inclusive Careers with some of my Cisco colleagues. We reflected on our career journeys; highlighting that careers are not linear and how we’ve navigated change within our careers. We shared actionable insights including career resources available at Cisco such as Cisco Coaching Services, Women of Cisco’s Executive Shadowing Program, Stretch Assignments (enabling career experimentation via job rotation) and Cisco’s female leadership programs Jump and DARE.
Guest speaker Rituja Ravikiran Rao then delivered a dynamic keynote on ‘Existing Loudly and Portfolio Careers’ followed by an insightful panel on using AI as a tool to further your career. Embracing this year’s UN International Women’s Day theme, #InvestInWomen, we spotlighted the game-changing power of financial literacy for women. BBC Morning’s financial whiz, Iona Bain, captivated our community with an energizing keynote on owning your financial future. Financial empowerment is more than just budgeting—it’s about independence. By empowering women with financial confidence, we’re not just elevating individuals; we’re uplifting entire societies.
Investing in Our Communities
During the event, we were also excited to announce our new charity partnership with The Eve Appeal; a charity close to our hearts and dedicated to raising funds and awareness to prevent gynaecological cancers. I’m proud that over £470 was raised in one afternoon and since the event we have already raised almost £2000! We look forward to continuing to fundraise for this fantastic charity!
Thanks to the passion and innovation of our Intersectionality Co-lead, Kedian Goode, we also hosted an “Inclusive Communities Fair” with the goal of raising awareness of the 16 UKI Inclusive Communities (such as Pride, Connected Black Professionals, Adult Caregivers Network).
Recognising intersectional perspectives enables us to acknowledge how overlapping identities converge to shape distinct perspectives and experiences. Cisco employees are encouraged to join multiple Inclusive Communities, not just those they have an affinity with but those they wish to learn more about and be a better ally for.
Until next year…
Huge gratitude to everyone who gave their time to make Women of Impact happen this year, including our Board, Site Leads, volunteers, other Inclusive Communities and the support from Women of Cisco EMEA, Cisco UKI Country Leadership Board, and Cisco TV.
For us this is not a one-off event, we aim to keep the conversation going via our Women of Cisco UKI programs such as the “Let’s Talk About It” Women’s Health Series, our recently launched podcast “Conversations with the Women of Cisco UKI Community”, fundraising opportunities for the Eve Appeal, Girls in IT Day, and much more.
Each of our Board and volunteers also has a “day job” at Cisco, it’s our shared passion for making a difference that fuels such impactful events.
Our project leads are already considering ideas for next year’s Women of Impact and we can’t wait for it!
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Thank you Eigen for this reflection – it has brought back many fond memories. As a community we are stronger together – to uplift, cherish and support one another. I feel incredibly honoured to be a part of that.