After yesterday we talked about how Bank of America managed to raise $2 billion to help the Black and Hispanic minorities, Cisco revealed a social-justice platform that is addressing this type of issue.
The company pledged to increase the global Black representation among its employees by 2023. It is looking to increase to 25% the number of people of color at the employee-through-manager level, and the director through a higher level to 75%. According to the 2019 company's diversity report, only 3.8% of its employees in the US were Black. At a management and VP levels, that rate is under 2.2%, with no people of color at the executive level.
The national reckoning has driven Cisco's actions on racism set in motion by the killing of George Floyd in May by some police officers. Moreover, the company was subject to controversy after it fired a couple of employees who commented against the #Black Lives Matter movement during a video-meeting. Cisco's representatives stated that those employees "did not live up to our values as a company."
Also, Cisco will soon launch a $50 million venture-capital fund called #Aspire Fund. The money will be invested in start-ups to increase the diversity of its partners. Scholarships for historically black colleges and universities will benefit from another $50 million. The money will be dispersed over five years.
After the news, an investor group filed a lawsuit against Cisco because its diversity records are not accurate. In response to the allegations, Cisco is considering "to respond to this lawsuit in court."
The market wasn't impressed with what Cisco has set in motion, as it closed the trading session 2.64% lower.
Read all about Bank of America's pledge here!
Sources: marketwatch.com, finance.yahoo.com
