Social Justice Takes Action

Support community partnerships, legislation, and advocacy

Cisco supports key partnerships, nonprofits, and advocates shaping and impacting social justice policy, legislation, and philanthropy. Together, we're supporting equal rights and access to opportunity for marginalized communities.

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey

• Awarded US$4.5 million to nonprofits that work in marginalized communities that advocate for equity and justice
• Established the observance of Juneteenth as a paid holiday
• Launched the Power to Empower Ambassador program to connect nonprofits to Cisco resources including employee expertise, volunteers, corporate matching funds, technology donations, and training.

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Increase representation

Cisco seeks to create more access to opportunities for employees from marginalized communities, including the African American/Black community, by addressing gaps in the number of applicants, expanding Social Talent Certified Interview training, and working with key organizations to source talented candidates. 

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey 

• Increased African American/Black representation in non-executive roles by 66 percent
• Increased African American/Black representation in director-level roles by 94 percent
• Increased African American/Black representation in executive roles by 300 percent

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Expand fair pay

Cisco is expanding our approach to fair pay and continuing to focus on promotion fairness, stock, and bonuses to help ensure equity in our leadership pipeline.

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey

• Expanded our pay fairness program to include analysis on merit, promotion, and stock participation

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Increase board diversity

Cisco is increasing the diversity of our board of directors, focusing on expanding our talent pipeline within marginalized communities, including the African American/Black community.

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey

• Increased the number of diverse candidates in our executive leadership pipelines
• Welcomed John D. Harris II as the first African American member of Cisco's Board of Directors
• Welcomed Marianna Tessel (2021) and Sarah Rae Murphy (2022). Women now hold 4 of our 11 board seats.

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Deliver inclusive culture and anti-discrimination training

Cisco offers anti-discrimination and inclusive company culture training to employees, partners, and select suppliers. This helps us recognize bias and discrimination, and expand a culture of trust, inclusion, and allyship. 

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey

• Achieved a 97 percent completion rate for employees worldwide in FY24
• Achieved a 98 percent completion rate for employees in the U.S. in FY24
• Made Building Skills for a Conscious Culture training available to select suppliers

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Connect leaders and employees

Cisco is connecting our leaders, partners, and suppliers with employees from marginalized communities and Cisco Networking Academy students through proximity and The Multiplier Effect (TME) sponsorship initiatives.

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey

• Introduced Cisco suppliers and partners to the impact and power of sponsorship to accelerate careers of diverse talent
• Trained more than 500 new leaders

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Transform our supplier ecosystem

Cisco is accelerating diversity, committing to double our spending across our suppliers by 2025 and supporting their success by sharing solutions and innovations that drive equity and inclusion. 

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey 

• Increased spend with diverse U.S. suppliers by 161 percent by end of fiscal year 2024 (FY24)
• Received diversity metrics from 100 percent of our preferred suppliers in FY24
• Made Building Skills for a Conscious Culture training available to select suppliers and launched two new micro-lessons in FY24

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Commit to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

Cisco has committed US$150 million over 5 years to the strategic recovery and sustainability of America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Of this total, US$50 million supports HBCU students and US$100 million funds technology modernization.

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey

• Preserved US$1.5 billion in HBCU Title IV funding through services and software needed for National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) compliance
• Donated US$97 million in services and software to HBCUs
• Completed 63 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) assessments and 47 technology installations at HBCUs
• Launched the Cisco Cyber Academy at Denmark Technical College, a two-year HBCU located in rural Bamberg County, South Carolina

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Support Diverse-owned companies

Cisco is driving equitable access to capital, education, and customers for marginalized communities, including African American/Black-owned companies, through special finance offers and training programs designed to increase revenue and profitability. 

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey 

• Created a special offer of deferring payments for six months with zero percent interest—an offer that has been extended to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and diverse-owned businesses
• Provided equipment leasing and finance training to over 130 Cisco partners and HBCU students.
• Onboarded 26 African American Cisco Partner Community (AACPC) channel finance partners

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Diversify our partner ecosystem

Cisco has committed US$50 million over 5 years to increase the number of African American/Black-owned technology companies in our partner ecosystem to accelerate their growth and financial success.  

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey

• Connected over 20,000 diverse candidates with technical and management job prospects at Cisco or with partners
• Created the African American Cisco Partner Community (AACPC) with more than 400 Black-owned partners focused on growth
• Developed an accelerate program focused on 17 AACPC partners through focused investment and access to Cisco resources
• Provided opportunities, training, and support to AACPC partners to drive demand for their businesses

 All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Invest in next-generation tech innovation

Cisco Investment's Aspire Fund is investing US$50 million in exceptional Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and female founders and venture fund managers who deliver next-generation enterprise technology.

Highlights of progress in our 5-year journey

• Invested millions into BIPOC and female-led startups and venture funds
• Reached over 200 companies and funds globally through the Aspire Fund

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted

Integrate human rights and inclusion across our business

Cisco is working across our enterprise to integrate human rights within our technology solutions and day-to-day operations. We've expanded our focus into three areas.

Human rights

Cisco is expanding and evolving our global human rights program and addressing human rights impacts in our operations and supply chain. We're also developing frameworks for addressing human rights risks associated with Cisco's technology.

Accessibility

Cisco is developing an accessibility infrastructure to transform the way we support employees with accessibility needs. We're advising product teams on integrating accessibility throughout the product development lifecycle.

Inclusive language

Cisco is driving awareness, implementing inclusive language policies, and creating new resources for our engineering teams to assist in removing harmful language and terminology from our products. Our efforts have included:

• Establishing Cisco's Human Rights Advisory Committee to guide Cisco's business and human-rights strategy
• Publishing Cisco's Principles for Responsible Artificial Intelligence and Responsible AI Framework
• Joining The Valuable 500, a global business collective innovating together for disability inclusion
• Implementing an inclusive language policy
• Creating an inclusive language playbook to facilitate removing harmful language from products

All data pertains to fiscal years 2020-2024 unless otherwise noted