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Shari Slate

Vice President, Chief Inclusion & Collaboration Officer

People & Communities

Shari Slate is Vice President, Chief Inclusion and Collaboration Officer at Cisco. Her organization is responsible for leading Cisco’s Office of Inclusion and Collaboration, including Community Impact. Slate has been widely recognized for her visionary leadership and transformational views on the business value created at the intersection of diversity, inclusion, collaboration and technology. Guided by her thought leadership in this area, Cisco is embracing new models of inclusion and collaboration to fuel innovation, accelerate market leadership, and reimagine workplace practices in the digital era.

In her previous role, Slate served as Chief Inclusion and Collaboration Strategist for Cisco’s sales organization. She was responsible for increasing inclusion in the revenue-generating arm of the business and incubating new strategies for fostering full spectrum diversity.

Slate joined Cisco in 2010. Prior to that, she served as Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Global Community Affairs at Sun Microsystems.

Slate is a respected and highly regarded business leader. Recent honors include the Catalyst Award from the Information Technology Senior Management Forum, The Network Journal’s 25 Influential Black Women in Business Award for 2019, Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Women in Corporate America list for 2019, and Black Enterprise’s Top Executives in Corporate Diversity list for 2018. Prior to these honors, Slate was named a 2017 Diversity Leader by Profiles in Diversity Journal, and one of the Top Influential Women in Corporate America for 2016 by Savoy Magazine. In 2014, the YWCA named her a “Tribute to Women in Industry” honoree. In 2013, she was named one of Diversity Woman Magazine’s “Stars Who Mean Business”. She has also been recognized as one of the “Most Influential Women in California” by the California Diversity Council and a “Woman Worth Watching” by Diversity Journal Magazine, as well as the recipient of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women 2010 Corporate Leader Award and The Network Journal's "40 Under Forty" Achievement Award.

Slate holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political, legal, and economic analysis from Mills College.

Articles

December 20, 2019

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INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Cisco Ranks #2 on Fortune’s 100 Best Workplaces for Diversity List for 2019

Cisco #2 on Fortune’s 100 Best Workplaces for Diversity list for 2019! While we still have more work to do,, we are proud to be named among the top 10 best workplaces for diversity in the U.S.

December 11, 2019

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INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Proud of where we stand today, inspired by where we will go from here

At Cisco, we are committed to a culture where all people feel welcomed, valued, respected, accepted and heard. We also believe it’s important to be transparent about our diversity, which is why we publicly release our data annually in our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report.

October 25, 2019

INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Celebrating Inclusive Leaders

At Cisco, we know true inclusion can’t happen without inclusive leaders. That’s one of the reasons we partner with HITEC to develop and support senior Hispanic business and technology executives and rising leaders.

December 13, 2018

INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Between where we stand today and where we go from here, there’s a bridge

At Cisco, we believe the true promise of inclusion and collaboration is to create a culture where all people are welcomed, valued, respected and heard. A culture where the full spectrum of diversity can fully participate in the business. A culture that empowers its people to accelerate social change and create thriving communities by supporting the causes they care about.

December 11, 2017

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INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Leap by Leap

When it comes to creating environments where everyone can thrive, our "best team” is one that’s 70,000 strong. We’re all in.

November 13, 2017

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INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Moments that Matter

Moments that Matter Right now – someone at Cisco is having a moment that matters. Taking a birthday off. Celebrating a promotion. Investing the day in developing new skills. Tending to a family crisis. Caring for a sick loved one. Welcoming a new child into the family. “Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of […]

April 4, 2017

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INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

The Future of Fairness

If you’ve tuned into some of the latest headlines within our industry – from the push for pay equity to the call for higher levels of diversity – you may have noticed a common theme. Fairness. There’s a shift occurring in the dialogue – and action – around driving fairness. And Cisco is making the […]

March 6, 2017

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INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Changing the Diversity Equation – The Multiplier Effect Pledge Launches at Mobile World Congress

More than 40 service provider and tech leaders worked together at Cisco’s annual Connected Women Executive Roundtable to launch The Multiplier Effect Pledge.

December 12, 2016

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INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Power and Potential

Today I’m pleased to share our progress as documented in the Our Society section of Cisco’s 12th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report – Accelerating Global Problem Solving. This report...