Cisco's success is built on a culture of inclusion and integrity. We hold ourselves and our suppliers to the highest standards for responsible procurement business practices.
Supplier diversity can be powerful. It opens new channels to access skills, provides resiliency, promotes inclusiveness, broadens partnership opportunities, and offers abundant viewpoints that are needed to solve today's complex challenges.
Diverse businesses are defined as being at least 51 percent-owned by a member of one of eight historically disadvantaged groups. These groups are identified by the U.S. government (see below) and headquartered in the United States. They are:
In addition to the above groups, the inclusion of LGBT business enterprises is part of Cisco's supplier diversity efforts.
Cisco recognizes the following diversity councils and agencies in support of the certification, growth, and development of diverse suppliers:
Cisco works with several suppliers, many of whom are diverse businesses. Diversity among these suppliers is an important priority, but please keep in mind that registering does not necessarily:
The Cisco Supplier Diversity Program was created to help ensure a good faith effort is made to optimize contract opportunities for diverse suppliers that provide products and/or services to Cisco and our key suppliers.
Our responsibility and commitment to diversity isn't limited just to Cisco. We are committed to supporting and enabling our supplier ecosystem as an extension of our company.
Cisco delivers inclusive company culture training focused on anti-discrimination, conscious culture, unconscious bias, allyship, and more, for our workforce. We are also making content available to all partners and suppliers.
BSCC training aims to provide a common language and skill set to nurture workplace conscious culture that is designed to mitigate bias, identify harassment, and recognize social inequity at work. Training details include the following:
Take BSCC training by accessing our supplier-exclusive learning portal.
Registration note: When accessing the training, the learner will be required to complete a brief registration form. For the "Employer of Record" field, the learner should input the name of the Cisco supplier organization, not "Cisco."
In 2017, Cisco introduced The Multiplier Effect (TME). The TME pledge empowers leaders to sponsor a person different from themselves, support their career advancement, and challenge their peers to do the same. Sponsors leverage their influence, position, and social capital to advocate career advancement for diverse talent. Sponsorship is not automatic—it is organic, dynamic, and rooted in respect and trust.
Sponsorship is a critical success factor in the advancement of diverse talent. Why sponsorship matters:
Use the power of sponsorship to amplify the voice and careers of underrepresented groups.
Chuck Robbins, Chief Executive Officer
"Cisco's commitment to diversity is a core part of our culture. As technology transforms every company, city, and country, and more people, places, and things become connected, it is more important than ever to consider and incorporate the many viewpoints and cultures from the places in which we do business.
Cisco's Supplier and Partner Diversity Program provides us with insight to better enable our business model and seize future opportunities by creating channels of social and economic opportunity with customers, partners, and suppliers. Our program represents an integrated and collaborative network that includes our direct and indirect supply chain, resellers, suppliers, and partners, all of whom offer a broad range of skills that the marketplace demands to stay competitive.
Our Supplier and Partner Diversity program has proven to be a clear competitive advantage for Cisco, helping us drive innovation and collaboration. We are proud that this program enables us to incorporate the many diverse ideas and viewpoints that are critical to our success."
Register your diverse business at the Cisco Supplier Portal. When submitting your completed company profile, please provide specific details about your capabilities and differentiators under the company description section.