#WeAreCisco Parents

Finding Light in the Darkness through Cisco’s Compassionate Culture

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Finding Light in the Darkness through Cisco’s Compassionate Culture

Contentment washes over me today as I watch my daughter play, a feeling I wouldn’t have recognized just a few years ago. Back then, I was in a relentless storm of challenges. I struggled with infertility and the grueling process of IVF treatments. An ectopic pregnancy resulted in emergency surgery, and for nearly five years, I carried the weight of being separated from my mom due to work, travel bans, visa applications, and the demands…

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Redefining Parental Leave at Cisco

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Redefining Parental Leave at Cisco

When I was expecting my first child last spring, I was determined to make a parental leave plan that was best for my family and demonstrated leadership on a matter I am passionate about. My situation was a bit unique: while I identify as a woman and a mother, my wife was carrying our child. I sort of fell into both the traditional category of maternity leave as well as paternity leave. This led me…

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Thank You, Cisco: From Persistence to Parenthood

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Thank You, Cisco: From Persistence to Parenthood

The following story discusses the loss of a baby and miscarriage. Readers who may be sensitive, please take note. I applied to Cisco 32 times. Yes, from 2016 to 2020, I applied to Cisco 32 times, driven by the dream of joining a company that values its employees. In 2020, an amazing Emerging Talent Recruiter reached out to me and persuaded me to try one more time. I was reluctant because my feelings were still…

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Embracing New Additions With Cisco’s Child Bonding Leave

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Embracing New Additions With Cisco’s Child Bonding Leave

With baby number four on the way, my family and I were ecstatic about the upcoming addition to our squad. But as the day appeared to be nearing, reality started to set in for my wife and me. Between busy schedules with school pickups and drop-offs for our three other kids, after-school activities, meals, and homework assistance … How would we manage this? That is when I found out about Cisco’s Child Bonding Leave, supported…

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How We’re Navigating Parenthood, Careers, and Connection at Cisco

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How We’re Navigating Parenthood, Careers, and Connection at Cisco

Once upon a time, there were two Stanford University employees — a husband and wife — who weren’t able to email one another because their computers were on different networks. Eventually, they figured out a way to connect their computers, developing the multiprotocol router. The year was 1984, and this new connection … well, it’s how Cisco was born! And thanks to the innovations of Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner, my husband and I are…

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Cisco Allowed Me To Start My Family, Stress-Free

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Cisco Allowed Me To Start My Family, Stress-Free

Becoming a parent looks different for everyone. Some are blessed for this journey to come swiftly. For others, the road is bumpier and has many pit stops along the way. After all, one in six couples struggles with fertility. And after a year and a half of trying to conceive, I found myself facing the real possibility of IVF being the most likely path to parenthood for my husband and me. Photo by CLJ Photography…

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Why We’re a Cisco Family Through and Through

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Why We’re a Cisco Family Through and Through

I started my career as a contractor with Cisco back in December 2003 with the Support Delivery Services IT Finance team. Even as a contractor, I could see from day one the incredible culture Cisco had, and everyone made me feel like I was part of the team and not a newbie. That’s when I knew that this was the company I wanted to build my career with. This is where I belonged. Cisco as…

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