Network Women
by Eman
As a man my opinion of women has matured over time and as the CCIE Agent I have a huge respect for those who pursue careers in IT. The movement by women for equal rights and equal education is now followed by the fight for equal pay. This has been a tough fight and a long journey for women around the world. I will not pretend to know the struggles’ stars or the many frustrations my gender has heaped upon them. I have been married for nearly 20 years. My wife and I have two lovely children and a life together where we respect and love one another. We live in a country where our culture is different than that of many others in respect to women, but change is happening in many of them in favor of respecting women as individuals who can contribute in many ways outside of the home. So my articles about a couple of women CCIEs in the March issue of the CCIE Flyer were a start of my desire to elevate the cause of these gifted network engineers from around the globe.
The Cisco Network Academy is a vehicle that has been used by over a million youth as they plan careers in IT and build that core knowledge base. Women have traditionally been poorly represented in IT with less than 35% of the population composed of them. In Networking even fewer have been involved with my estimate being less than 20%. So whenever I travel and meet CCIEs and the next generation of CCIEs I am especially interested in speaking with the women.
Before my recent trip to Cairo I was honored to be featured with Delaware University and Cisco Systems in the roll-out of the Cisco Network Academy at Padua Academy. This all girls’ high school was the recipient of a donation of $11,000 worth of Cisco equipment to furnish their lab and introduce the young women there to the technology that changed the world. This opportunity for them to add to their education the fundamentals which can propel them into the world of IT is significant.
The Network Academy in Cairo has some great instructors and students. One of the instructors is Rasha Aboelsoud. A young woman I was very impressed with. Her enthusiasm for her curriculum and her belief in networking careers as a method for improving the future for her students is contagious. She has influenced men and women alike to pour themselves into advancing their value in IT to secure a brighter future.
As you can see the women at the event I attended in Cairo were well turned out. I was delighted to learn of some of their activities and advancements through CCNA and CCNP certifications. This was an enthusiastic group of young professionals.
My journey to Egypt was a surreal mix of work and fun and insight. I do not hide my love for what I do for a job, I am the CCIE Agent. This position has taken me from Delaware (where I live) to Canada, the UK, UAE, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece and Egypt. On the horizon I have Libya, Russia, Australia and China in my plans. But of all the places I have gone, including my trips in the USA I have never been met with such hospitality and enthusiasm as I met than in Cairo. I saw the Pyramids and the Spinx and I saw Cairo both new and old. I even had my cab driver take me to see, “The City of the Dead”. But I was taken more by the people and the Network Academy students eclipsed the other sites for me.
Their stories tell of hopes and dreams built on the knowledge that soon their anticipation for goods jobs will pay off. I met student who come from poverty, refugees, and others whose dreams are no less important because of their circumstances. But I was impressed by the women of Egypt in the Network Academy program most of all.
These women are inspired by their instructor Rasha and by a recent graduate Nevin Mohed who was featured as a special guest for the Network Academy presentations. Her story is shared on the Network Academy website where her experience and her employment by a Cisco Channel Partner in Cairo was detailed. As a CCNP she was able to get a job as a Technical Project Supervisor. I was happy to meet her and to learn she is a mentor and great person enthusiastic about the Cisco Network Academy and the benefits of the program.
To all the women who I have met in the pursuit of resources for the Cisco Channel Partners I must tell you that I have been impressed by each and every one of you. Meeting the future talent that will bring the technological discoveries my generation have not dreamed of yet is an honor.
Women CCIEs are on average paid as well as the men in the USA. I have learned that in the UK they also compete well with their male counterparts. In Canada I discovered the same was true in discussions with the few women CCIEs in that country I have spoken with. It seems that the CCIE certification is a great equalizer and a certification worth pursuing by women.
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