The Women in Cisilion community is an initiative that exists to connect, support and elevate women across all roles and career stages. Rooted in Cisilion’s vision to go beyond expectations, we aim to transform not just technology for our clients, but the culture within the technology industry – ensuring inclusion and opportunity for all.
As part of this community building, yesterday we hosted our launch event with Cisco for our series ‘Women in Tech: Confronting Conversations’ at Cisco’s newly refurbished Finsbury Circus office.
It was incredible to have a room of so many inspiring women coming together to talk about important topics that surround a male dominated industry.
After short welcome from our host Kate Sharp (Partner Account Executive, Cisco) Charlotte Beardsmore (Managed Services Sales Acceleration Partner Leader, Cisco) and Gemma Staples (Head of Sales Support, Cisilion) took the stage to introduce Women of Cisco and Women in Cisilion groups to discuss what our communities means, the value they are driving, and how we’re working in partnership with each other to help elevate and support these groups.
Our aim is for this community to be a truly impactful environment that women in the industry feel is a safe space to discuss ‘taboo’ and difficult topics.
We want our Women in Cisilion motto of ‘Inspire, Connect and Support’ to resonate in every event we host.
Katherine Lord (Director of Financial Services and Insurance Client Solutions, TRG) led the first session by talking about the power of community, more specifically the power of mentoring and the value it can bring to both mentors and mentees.
Their free mentoring programme which is open for all, harmoniously connects people together to facilitate those early in their career, or just in need of some support with someone to help guide them.
The level of vulnerability and openness in our fireside chat session with Sarah Walker (Chief Executive UK&I, Cisco) led by Stacie Hill (Head of Marketing and member of the senior leadership team at Cisilion) was truly inspiring and really encompassed the ‘confronting conversations’ aspect of the event.
The discussion focused on leading with authenticity, resisting the pressure to chase job titles, and instead prioritising personal growth and performance – allowing results to speak for themselves.
Conversation reflected on overcoming bias in a male-dominated industry by building credibility through consistent outcomes, self-belief, and the support of mentors and sponsors.
Vulnerability in leadership was also addressed, highlighting the importance of being authentic and human while knowing when teams need calm, decisive direction. Wellbeing and boundaries were central themes, with practical insights on balancing senior leadership with family life, setting non-negotiables, and letting go of guilt.
The session concluded with a strong emphasis on male allyship as a leadership responsibility, defined through everyday behaviours such as advocacy, sponsorship, and amplifying women’s voices.
We are proud to have had numerous men from Cisilion coming to support this cause and contributing to valuable conversations.
Our closing speaker, Georgia Taggart (Account Director, Cisilion) spoke authentically about her journey in finding new ways to connect with her clients through her growing social media presence.
This was the catalyst to her building her personal brand and discovering the opportunities that are presented to you when you say yes and step out of your comfort zone. Her women in tech sales content has reached and inspired thousands of women.
Not only does this create higher visibility for women in wanting to enter male dominated roles or industries, but it has also allowed her to appreciate the value you can bring from being open and honest about your journey.
She emphasised the point that you don’t have to be the most senior person in the room – where you are right now might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.
Thank you to all those who attended, your engagement throughout the sessions and your continued support. We hope you all gained value and insight from this event and we hope to see you at the next one.
If you did not get the chance to join our LinkedIn Community, please join here. We have created a group to keep this community growing and engaged.
We will post recaps from this event as well as any other of our events we run or attend. We want this to be a safe and supportive space, so encourage all of you to post and contribute -whether its to shout about achievements, update on news around women in tech or even ask for help and support.
