 Here's your host, Jeff Frick. Hi, Jeff Frick here with theCUBE. We are on the ground at the VM Women at VMworld. What do you call it? It says conference, a side panel, the discussion. Yeah, it's a side program, side panel. Awesome. Joining by Robin Matlock, the CMO, who just led a great panel discussion. We have Lauren McKenzie-Yanshee, a great keynote to beginning. So first off, terrific event. Thanks for having us. We're happy to be here, and thank you for coming. I appreciate you covering this. Absolutely. So talk about, you know, why are you doing this? Why is this important to VMware? You know, women in tech is just such an important topic, and really diversity in all businesses. And we find that here at the conference, you'll find the ratio of women and men is really kind of small. And this is a great opportunity to get women together, talk about some of the issues, not just women actually, I don't want to correct that, women and men together. Talk about some of the issues that are both opportunities and challenges for getting women more involved in tech. We just think it's an important topic. We want women to feel inclusive being here at VMworld. And as Paul mentioned, up on the panel, you know, the studies clearly show that when you have a diversity of opinions around innovation, you're trying to solve a problem, chances are you might find a better way to skin that cat. So clearly as a business benefit as well as a social benefit. It's so true. You know, I think that for innovation, one of the really things that can stop it is just one track thinking, right? And diversity helps bring different ideas, different perspectives, different ways of looking at things. And so yeah, we're a big believer that if we're more inclusive, if we have more diversity, we're going to drive more innovation. And then drive the business, which is what it's all about. So you made some interesting comments on the panel that I wanted to follow up on. One was that, you know, you just did your thing. You worked hard. You believed in the magic hand and here you are, successful business woman. See him of a terrific company and probably the biggest tech event going on that you run. Terrific. And then suddenly kind of woke up or sounds like it were made aware. What was kind of that process where it was like, hmm, not everybody is as fortunate in me to kind of just work and do my thing and reap the benefits. Yeah, what I acknowledged to the panel was that, you know, women in business wasn't really my torch. It hasn't been my cause. And it's only been as I've matured in my career that I've recognized that at the end of the day, even though my career has been a great run, I've had a tremendous, you know, I feel very blessed, very grateful for the great success I've had. But I recognize that I have a responsibility to women. And when you really look at the data, the numbers don't lie. And the reality is we don't yet have equality. And so as a senior executive woman, I feel a real sense of accountability and responsibility to get more involved and get engaged and to help my women colleagues. So talk about it, because now you're doing some fun stuff. You said you're working with Girls Who Code and some other organizations. How has that been, you know, has it been a fun experience and lightening? What are some of the surprises that you found along the way? Yeah, well, recently I met with a group, Girls Who Code, and I have to say I was blown away. These young women were sharp, articulate, technical, creative, daring, bold, and I was actually really inspired. And I think the key is how do we just foster that and not let that die? Because they certainly have it right now at the age of 16, 17, 18. And I think the key is to make sure they have it at 37, 38, and 40. Yeah, and I think Renee Zog made an interesting point we just had her on talking. I was telling her about the Lori's little exercise where you're supposed to write down good things about yourself, accomplishments, stuff. And no one at my table could do it in the whole two minutes. So, you know, it's like, think about somebody else, compliment somebody else. And she said she really realized that in complimenting herself, it's really about helping other women, helping the cause, helping other people see that this can be a successful leader. So, you know, you really need to kind of tout your own horn, not necessarily for yourself, but really for other executives. I think this notion of sponsoring others and really making sure that you are enabling other people to be successful, men and women. But I think women, it's maybe something to really focus on and how are you introducing them into the workforce? Or how are you introducing them into their colleagues and setting them up for success is really important. I think the other important thing we learned today was this factor that touting your horn for women sometimes can make you not come across as likable. And that's a factor we also have to deal with in this balance of positioning ourselves effectively, but also not losing those likable points or managing that. Yeah, it's interesting that that's still, that still is pervasive, it's crazy. So, last question, first day of work for a bunch of new hires down at the campus of Palo Alto, bunch of women in the crowd, diverse crowd. What do you tell them welcome to VMware? Well, first of all, we invest in all of our new talent. One thing is about how to help them be successful at this great company. We try to ground them all on what is our purpose. We talk a lot about our epic values. It's core. I think if you talk to any 19,000 VMware employees, they could recite for you, what are our epic values? And we live by that. And certainly diversity is a big part of our culture. So we root them in that. And then we also create a lot of mentoring opportunities and sponsorship opportunities so that those new hires, they have someone that they can go to. They have a buddy. We really believe in that, giving them a chance to get to know themselves, the organization, how to be successful at the company. Awesome. Well, Robin, thanks again for a great event here and obviously a fantastic VMworld 2015. But 23,000 people and they stream by theCUBE every day on the way to Keynotes. I love it. All right, here we go. Day three, here we come. Here we come. All right, Jeff Rick here on the ground at the VM Women at VMware 2015. You're watching theCUBE. Thanks for watching.