Yesterday, we unveiled to the public Cisco’s Social Justice Beliefs and Our Commitment to Action. For me — and perhaps for all who poured their souls into creating it — it’s a remarkable milestone.
Because it’s not just a platform for change. It’s a bridge. Connecting longstanding challenges with new possibilities for overcoming them. Ushering in a future of fairness. Enabling bold, deliberate, intentional action whenever – and wherever — we see injustice and inequality.
What we unveiled yesterday has been years in the making. Over the past five years, Cisco has taken courageous steps to fight injustice and inequality. We’ve taken a stand — and considerable actions — to help protect the equal rights, safety, and dignity of our people and our communities around the world.
As Dr. King puts it “the time is always right to do the right thing.”
In this year marked by unprecedented events and unimaginable tragedies — we know now that we must reach higher.
Here’s what I want you to know:
We are Ready.
We’ve spent years preparing for this moment — this pivot point. We are ready to reach higher. To rise up. To make seismic shifts in our company, our communities, and our society.
Our willingness to engage in difficult conversations keeps us ready. We listen. We learn — about inequality and injustice in all forms — and what it means to be vulnerable and insecure. We don’t let anything stand in the way of being proximate to both the issues and the people most impacted by them. Our beliefs empower our actions and our commitment guides how we show up, connect, and create true impact.
Our Mission is clear.
What affects any one of us affects all of us. Our Social Justice Beliefs and Our Commitment to Action are fundamental to powering an Inclusive Future for all.
We choose to share them as an invitation to all who believe we can create an Inclusive Future. An invitation to join us. Create a movement. Be the change.
Our actions will be Bold.
They already are. Like postponing Cisco Live to prioritize our collective need for space and healing in the face of the horrific murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, among others. It’s the latest wave of what Chuck Robbins has called “another pandemic — not one that is new by any means, but one that we must confront.”
Bold means we engage closely with those most deeply impacted by injustice. That’s Proximity. We dig deep, root around in the shadows, and uncover all the insidious ways the problem exists – and persists.
Bold means we consciously choose where we dig in first. We can’t address every issue simultaneously – that’s a formula for failure. Our initial actions are designed to address issues that most specifically impact our African American and Black employees and communities. The impact we create and the lessons we learn will allow us to replicate and scale for everyone.
We will be Relentless.
Relentless. The time will always be right to do the right thing.
This commitment has been created across every level in our company. Fueled by the passion and vulnerability within scores of courageous conversations. Debated in the breakrooms and the boardroom.
This commitment — these actions — are Us.
#WeAreCisco #SocialJustice #InclusiveFuture
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