I'm a minority and a Silicon Valley 'trade secret'

I've always been a strong believer that you own your career and you determine where you are in life. I haven't run into too many issues because I'm African-American.

I landed at Scientific Atlanta, which Cisco (CSCO) later bought, as a sales analyst. After about six months I knew I wanted to get out there and do field sales.

I'm not one to play the race card. But in sales, they definitely want the all-American look: white males. I remember looking around at my first national sales meeting and thinking, Where are the black people? Same goes for women, even to this day.

Sales is still the good old boys' network. It's not that you can't be successful; it's just that there aren't a lot of us. On one of my first calls, in fact, a client asked if I thought I didn't get sales because I'm black. I said, "Well, I'm not going to have that problem with you, right?" It was an interesting way to start things off.

I really can't say why we're so underrepresented. I think getting a sales position is especially tough for African-Americans, unless you're selling an ethnic-branded product. But I've earned my credentials, so I think I've earned respect from my peers. In sales, you either do or you don't.

Race is one of the most uncomfortable conversations for people, right up there with religion and politics. I'm not surprised companies won't release their diversity data publicly. I don't think the issues are intentional, but it's up to us to break through that glass and demand what we deserve.

NEXT: Sandi Thomas, business developer