 Live from Houston, Texas. It's theCUBE, covering Grace Hopper's celebration of women in computing. Welcome back to theCUBE's coverage of the Grace Hopper Conference here in Houston, Texas. I'm Rebecca Knight, your host. Today we welcome Felicia Mayo, who is the Vice President for Global Talent Acquisition and Authenticity and Inclusion for Juniper Networks in Sunnyvale, California. Juniper Networks, of course, is a company, a networking company that powers the internet. Felicia, welcome. Thank you. I want to start out by saying you are a veteran of Silicon Valley. Not a veteran. No, you're not. You're not that old. But you are a woman in Silicon Valley and a woman of color in Silicon Valley. How are things? Is it, are things as bad as we hear? I mean, what are your impressions of the culture in Silicon Valley today and when you first started out? Yeah, so I think that the, I started out on the East Coast, I started out with one of the top, Big Five companies. So that was great in New York and so awesome experience. I have to say there is a cultural shift from the East Coast to the West Coast. So then I came out to the West Coast, technology company, starting with several of the big name companies here in the Valley and have been with them for a couple of years, right? And I would have to say in California, things have always been great. I love California and I love the diversity that is here, which is what drew me here. And then technology on top of that was just awesome. And I think one of the huge things that you're referring to is kind of our numbers that are here in the Valley and the numbers really, quite frankly, have not moved in the industry. We have, as African Americans, period, have remained at about one to 2% in the Valley in technology specifically. Men and women? That is men and women, right? So to even dissect out women, you probably wouldn't want to do that because it's not even a whole person, right? Or a whole percent. So I think that while the numbers are not awesome, there is a network of individuals that share the same ethnicity as well as gender that I have that we really want to see how we can increase in Silicon Valley specifically, but also globally, just in technology companies, period. And so I think that all of us are tasked with making sure that we're able to influence and increase the decrease of the educational gap in technology, also in ensuring that not only do we decrease that educational gap, but we also decrease it in corporate in technology as well. And so I think as several companies, and specifically Juniper Networks, we're really focused in on making sure that we increase diversity across all areas of diversity, whether it is ethnicity in the U.S., or gender globally, or even your style of work. Your diversity of thought is key for innovation. In terms of the numbers are one thing, but I also want to hear about your experience too in the sense of we've really raised our consciousness now about the hidden biases that exist, the not-so-hidden biases that exist, and Silicon Valley is predominantly male, predominantly white. Do you feel that it is welcoming, or at least increasingly welcoming, to people of color and to women? Yeah, actually, I have not had an issue in Silicon Valley, per se, in technology. I would have to say, again, I'm coming from the East and somewhat of the South, so with that diverse background, me coming to California and to Silicon Valley has been really, truly a diverse event for me. And specifically working in tech has allowed me a platform, and any boundaries that I may have seen, or may did not see, I didn't let that stop me, because I am definitely focused in on making sure that I can do my part in increasing diversity overall, whether in technology or outside of technology, but specifically in technology for me, is I want increased diversity. Again, diversity of thought is key. I want to make sure that any of our kids can see themselves sitting around the table, whether they're talking about the next gadget, the next upgrade to Apple, or the next who's powering AT&T or Verizon, or if they're just talking about what's going on in just the U.S. I want them to feel like they're comfortable to have those conversations, regardless on who's sitting there. And I have to say that while I've been in Silicon Valley and sitting at the table with executives, specifically at Juniper, I have not felt any of those concerns. We have a pretty diverse C-suite, as well as a diverse leadership team and within our company. Can we do better? Absolutely, we can all do better, but even from being in the room with males and females, and sometimes you are, the only African-American female sitting there, but that's never really brought out. I think I am thought of as, hey, she has some great ideas. There's some things that we haven't thought about, and I'm not shy about offering those ideas up. So in terms of what you're doing at Juniper Networks to increase that diversity of thought and diversity of perspective that you keep talking about, what are some of the specific strategies and approaches that you're doing to make sure that you are not only attracting women, but also making them stay? Absolutely, so we do have a defined strategy at Juniper overall for global diversity. One of the areas that we focus in on is making sure that we can attract the best talent. Attracting the best talent means attracting the best diverse talent as well, which is why we're here at Anita Borg Institute's Grace Hopper Conference, making sure that we have diversity of thought as we go out to attract. So I challenge our managers and our leaders every day to say, what are you looking for as you're giving me a job description for my team to go out and attract talent? And what are they looking for? I mean, I know it's going to vary from manager to manager. The best and the brightest talent, of course. The best talent, that's easy. The best, the brightest, those that are innovative. You know, we're thinking about- That's buzzwords though. What do they really want? Well, they want- What do hiring managers want? They want someone that's very open, open. Not only do you have a master's or a PhD or an undergrad degree, but you're able to apply it and you can also use your passion and your common sense to be able to come up with innovation that we didn't even think about. For you to be able to challenge absolutely everything that, you know, is possible. Challenge, go beyond. You take a risk. Always think about what's next and not just think about, what is it that my manager wants me to do and how can I make them happy and just get through this hurdle? Those are not, that's not the type of talent that we're looking for. We're looking for those that can truly see what's next. What's the next generation of disruption in innovation, right? And it's my job to say, got it. And now let me go out and hunt for the best talent out there. And when I come back or my team comes back, they come back with a slate. That slate should be very diverse. And I go in and I check to make sure that slate is diverse. Whether it's gender, is it could be university, diversity of universities that they've attended? Not just the Ivy League. We need to hunt for those specific individuals that we're looking for. You're talking about this propensity to take risks and challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone. When you are looking at a resume, what are some examples? What are you, how could that manifest itself in real world experience in the sense of I can see that this person is someone we want because she takes risks. Yeah, absolutely. So you may actually see where they jump industries. Okay. Their jumping industry is something you can see they've majored in a particular area. And then they've taken a risk by jumping into something that you can tell they had no clue on or they just said, hey, I'm good at that. Also those that have completely shifted, they may have been in finance. And now they're an electrical engineer. They've completely shifted where they're thinking, oh, something has changed. There was a change for that person. Let's check it out. Or let's see, they may actually be in sales. And they decide that they want more technology and they go to a hacker school and they get immersed into hacker school for let's say eight weeks. And then they're looking for a role. That means that they've now, they've shifted, it's a passion. And that's the type of talent we're looking for. Those that are passionate about what they're doing, what they want to do, and what they aspire to do. And so when we bring, when we see those shifts on the resumes and we talk to them and we see that spark, we know that's the talent we want at Juniper. So one of the biggest problems that a lot of technology companies face is getting them through the door, but then also making the environment so that they stay and that they are able to balance a demanding job and demanding pressures in their professional life with other things they want to do with their lives. You have two kids, you work a challenging, demanding job. What do you say about work-life balance? What advice do you give young women and young men too? Because this balance is not just a woman's issue. Yeah, you're correct. And one of the things I advise employees is you must balance your life, right? It is your life. And so there is no way that anyone else can tell you how you should balance your life. I know that I have an hour and a half commute. So with that- Really? Oh my word. Both ways. So hour and a half commute, I know that I must manage my time wisely. And with that type of commute, I know I can take my calls there, I can either leave later so that I can take my kids to school, I can actually see them because I know that later in the day, my schedule will not allow me to. So really the flexibility. And that's one of the things I advise many of our employees, our colleagues, to focus in, number one, we offer you flexibility as a company. Leverage it. Have an adult conversation with your manager to say, you know what? My schedule is a little flexible. I'm gonna need to shift it out a bit. And sometimes you don't even need to tell them. You just manage your workload and you manage your deliverables and we're all good, right? And that's really the approach that I've taken with myself, my team. If they need to work from Starbucks, I'm fine with that. I don't care where you work, just as long as you get it done. So managers are open to that. They're very open to that. Now, are there some times where you need to come in because you're a QA engineer? Absolutely, because we have it in-house and but at the same time, you still have that flexibility. You have the flexibility to have your life because truly there is no work-life balance. It's work-life integration. I've always integrated my family into my work where they have even been on videos for the company. They know about my internship program. They want to come out and see the interns because they're so excited. It gives them even exposure to technology as well. So I'm all about making sure that you integrate your family in. But what you do every day? When you think back of the younger you, the girl growing up in North Carolina, what advice would you give her? I mean, here you are, the successful woman in Silicon Valley who's had a long career in technology. What would you say to that little girl? Take a risk. Take a risk. And I do always give back, always give back to where you are from. I never forget where I came from. And in North Carolina, I would never have thought that I would actually be in Silicon Valley and executive in Silicon Valley or sitting here with you at any point. So definitely I think that giving back, taking a risk, don't take the advice from naysayers. Always believe that you can move forward and do it because you can. If you put all of your energy and your time into it, it will happen. Words to live by. Yes. Thank you so much. Felicia Mayo. Thank you. Vice President of Talent and Acquisition and Inclusion at Juniper Networks. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm Rebecca Knight, your host with theCUBE's live coverage of the Grace Hopper Conference here in Houston, Texas. We'll be back after this short break.