Empowering Change: Cisco's Commitment to Social Impact and Inclusion
Nearly four decades ago, Cisco embarked on a mission to connect the world through technology, aiming to deliver innovation and unique value to customers, employees, partners, and communities. Our goal has been to create a business that is not only rewarding to work with but also dedicated to making a positive impact in the world.
In 2020, this commitment inspired Cisco’s Purpose: to Power an Inclusive Future for All. This Purpose, and its practical application through our distinctive strengths to achieve meaningful social impact, was what attracted me to Cisco. I joined the company in late 2022 to lead the inaugural Social Impact Office, focusing on innovative strategies and enhancing Cisco’s ability to develop tech-enabled solutions for the significant challenges facing our society, planet, and people.
Through this exploration, Cisco is initiating a transformative era of impact, establishing ambitious goals and pushing ourselves to create solutions capable of improving billions of lives. After two years of this journey, we have learned that focus and simplicity are vital to driving innovation.
To enhance our innovative capacity, we are streamlining our organization by merging the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Impact teams into a new Social Impact and Inclusion Office. Together, we will concentrate on what is most important—effecting positive change by tackling our greatest challenges both within our organization and globally. By eliminating redundancies and complexities, we will harness our strengths to create opportunities for everyone to succeed.
Our work is more relevant and crucial than ever to realize Cisco’s Purpose. By expanding our portfolio of solutions, we will better utilize our synergies, generating new insights, strategies, and operational excellence.
The new Social Impact and Inclusion Office will foster innovation, accelerate efforts, and generate substantial impact across various areas, including Digital Inclusion, Economic Empowerment, DEI, Social Justice, and Critical Human Needs. We aim to enhance our inclusive culture, dismantle barriers to address systemic inequities, empower communities through skills development, promote digital inclusion, and respond swiftly in crises to meet essential human needs.
Our employees, along with our broad network of partners, suppliers, and customers, will have more opportunities to engage and leverage their unique strengths through volunteering and resource contributions. The nearly 28,000 members of Cisco’s 31 Inclusive Communities will play an essential role as allies and change agents, providing valuable insights from diverse cultures and perspectives.
Building on the momentum of recent years, we have surpassed our ten-year goal of positively impacting one billion lives and achieved a remarkable level of employee engagement, with over 80% of our workforce contributing to meaningful causes. In FY24, around 86% of our employees took action to give back, contributing more than 700,000 volunteer hours and over $30 million in donations and matching gifts.
Looking ahead, perhaps the most powerful—and challenging—aspect of our Purpose is encapsulated in the phrase "for all." For Cisco, our employees, the new Social Impact and Inclusion Office, and our global partners, this vision represents a shared commitment to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
My team is actively working on a clear and impactful path forward, united in our mission "for all." We are eager to share our progress and the new opportunities we uncover along the way.
In 2020, this commitment inspired Cisco’s Purpose: to Power an Inclusive Future for All. This Purpose, and its practical application through our distinctive strengths to achieve meaningful social impact, was what attracted me to Cisco. I joined the company in late 2022 to lead the inaugural Social Impact Office, focusing on innovative strategies and enhancing Cisco’s ability to develop tech-enabled solutions for the significant challenges facing our society, planet, and people.
Through this exploration, Cisco is initiating a transformative era of impact, establishing ambitious goals and pushing ourselves to create solutions capable of improving billions of lives. After two years of this journey, we have learned that focus and simplicity are vital to driving innovation.
To enhance our innovative capacity, we are streamlining our organization by merging the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Impact teams into a new Social Impact and Inclusion Office. Together, we will concentrate on what is most important—effecting positive change by tackling our greatest challenges both within our organization and globally. By eliminating redundancies and complexities, we will harness our strengths to create opportunities for everyone to succeed.
Our work is more relevant and crucial than ever to realize Cisco’s Purpose. By expanding our portfolio of solutions, we will better utilize our synergies, generating new insights, strategies, and operational excellence.
The new Social Impact and Inclusion Office will foster innovation, accelerate efforts, and generate substantial impact across various areas, including Digital Inclusion, Economic Empowerment, DEI, Social Justice, and Critical Human Needs. We aim to enhance our inclusive culture, dismantle barriers to address systemic inequities, empower communities through skills development, promote digital inclusion, and respond swiftly in crises to meet essential human needs.
Our employees, along with our broad network of partners, suppliers, and customers, will have more opportunities to engage and leverage their unique strengths through volunteering and resource contributions. The nearly 28,000 members of Cisco’s 31 Inclusive Communities will play an essential role as allies and change agents, providing valuable insights from diverse cultures and perspectives.
Building on the momentum of recent years, we have surpassed our ten-year goal of positively impacting one billion lives and achieved a remarkable level of employee engagement, with over 80% of our workforce contributing to meaningful causes. In FY24, around 86% of our employees took action to give back, contributing more than 700,000 volunteer hours and over $30 million in donations and matching gifts.
Looking ahead, perhaps the most powerful—and challenging—aspect of our Purpose is encapsulated in the phrase "for all." For Cisco, our employees, the new Social Impact and Inclusion Office, and our global partners, this vision represents a shared commitment to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
My team is actively working on a clear and impactful path forward, united in our mission "for all." We are eager to share our progress and the new opportunities we uncover along the way.
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