20 years of steady progress for the LGBT community
Pros
Despite my initial reservations and shynesss I have grown more confident as a gay employee at Cisco as Cisco’s leadership and its policies towards the LGBT community have grown to be more progressive. It took one call to HR and zero paperwork to add my partner to benefits. When I reached our HR to say I had come out and wanted to know if there was an employee group, their first words were “congratulations.” Our resell partners sponsor an LGBT social at our annual sales conference (we have the best resell partners on the planet). And we have executive sponsors who honestly care about our welfare. They matched my donations to Orlando, PRIDE, and supported us in the San Francisco parade. They are sensitive to the situations other employees face in other countries.
Cons
They are not leaders; rather, fast followers in LGBT advocacy. In North Carolina. In Texas. In Washington. At the San Fran parade. Room to grow. Not a place to expect leadership. But a place to expect acceptance, decency and support.