CISCO CTO: Being The Only Woman In A Room Is An Advantage
Jul 15, 2013, 19:17 IST
CiscoCisco’s Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Padmasree Warrior, argues that instead of focusing on the negative aspects of being the only woman in the room, women need to take advantage of the opportunities it presents. “It’s pretty intimidating and very lonely at times; you go to a technology conference or an engineering conference, there are very few women there. At the same time it’s a blessing in the fact that you do get noticed,” says Warrior in an interview with Forbes.
Warrior, who is said to be one of the prime candidates to succeed CEO John Chambers, said that a “unique platform” is created for women in this situation, adding that women are more likely to be remembered “as the only woman in the room ‘who said that’, or the only woman in the room who was an engineer.”
She is one of four women on Cisco's 14-person executive board, according to the company's website.
Before joining Cisco she spent 23 years at Motorola. She holds a masters degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
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