Employee Networks at Cisco

• Women's Action Networks
• Cisco Black Employee Network (CBEN)
• Conexion, the Cisco Latino Network
• Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) and Advocates
• Cisco Asian Affinity Network (CAAN)
• Indians Connected

Employee Networks Get Involved in Business

Each employee network maintains a business plan, with specific goals in several focus areas that support the company's business objectives. These groups contribute to Cisco recruiting, retention, and professional development, and they exemplify the company culture of giving back through community outreach. Some examples of employee network projects are the following:

• Recruitment
  • CBEN participates in conferences and job fairs for the National Black MBA Association and National Society of Black Engineers, and works with 100 Black Men of America and the United Negro College Fund.
  • The Women's Action Networks have reached 4700 students through the Girls in Technology program. These networks also participate in conferences sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers, National Association of Women MBAs, and Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.
  • Conexion participates in conferences and job fairs for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs.
  • GLBT participates in the Out & Equal career fair, and worked with human resources to organize a health fair and to review domestic-partner benefits.
  • CAAN participates in the Asian American Engineer of the Year Award and coordinated Cisco Executive Briefing Center sessions for students at three Asian universities.
• Retention and Professional Development
  • All employee networks collaborated in leadership seminars on professional development, with more than 400 employees across Cisco attending or viewing each seminar. The Women's Action Networks, Conexion, CBEN, and GLBT also team up on a joint mentoring program that involves 58 mentors and protégés, as well as multiple Mentoring Circles.
  • Conexion developed and led a Project Management Professional certification study course, and 100 percent of participants passed the exam.
  • The Women's Action Networks delivered more than 270 career development workshops globally in FY2006.
  • CAAN conducted Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert certification informational sessions which more than 100 employees attended in San Jose and Research Triangle Park.
• Corporate Culture
  • GLBT sponsored the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students.
  • Conexion created a team to mentor middle-school students for Tech Challenge.
  • CBEN mentored urban youth, age 11-18, and discussed technology career options through Ashay by the Bay, a community-based after-school program. CBEN also gave presentations about business and technology to single mothers in San Jose, California, through the San Juan Bautista Child Development Center, an aftercare center for children of low-income single parents.
  • Women's Action Networks assisted with the Bring Your Children to Work programs around the globe. These networks also worked with local management teams to identify challenges that women face in their respective regions.
  • CAAN raised US$23,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief and participated in the Red Cross Katrina call center at Cisco.