As we look back at 2018, we are pleased to reflect on some important work that our Inclusion & Diversity and Community Engagement teams have achieved in conjunction with our leaders and colleagues from across the company.
We’re a small team with a big vision for change!
Progress Toward Parity
Paradigm4Parity (P4P), a coalition of business leaders who are dedicated to addressing the corporate leadership gender gap, and of which Juniper Networks is a signatory, celebrated its second anniversary last month.
Why does a corporate gender gap matter?
At Juniper, we’re proud of the steps we’ve taken this year on our own journey toward parity for women and other underrepresented employees. Our efforts include releasing our diversity numbers, establishing a sponsorship program and initiating unconscious bias training.
Greater Transparency
To improve our numbers moving forward, we’ve developed a comprehensive strategy to invest in and support inclusion and diversity at Juniper. It includes sponsoring internal talent, refining our recruiting practices, minimizing unconscious bias, creating greater transparency and committing to pay parity.
Sponsorship Program
To advance the next generation of women in leadership at Juniper, we’ve created “LEAD,” a global sponsorship program designed to drive greater development, visibility and growth opportunities for women.
Catalyst puts it well: “A mentor talks with you, and a sponsor talks about you.” Each member of our executive team has sponsored at least one woman at Juniper in 2018. Unlike a mentor, who focuses on advising, our C-Suite sponsors give LEAD participants visibility, share their accomplishments with others and advocate for them to have stretch opportunities.
Unconscious Bias Training
Finally, our Inclusion & Diversity team has instituted a training program that will help us tackle the pervasive challenge of unconscious bias. Everyone, from the C-Suite to new employees, is required to take the course in early 2019 and training will be repeated yearly.
Continued Community Support
We are proud of our ongoing community engagement efforts. Last year, we donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of a wide range of needs—some of which include:
- Grants to education programs focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)—particularly those supporting girls (Techbridge Girls, Black Girls Code, Code for Fun, Cristo Rey Work-Study and others)
- Donations to organizations fighting hunger, including Second Harvest Food Bank and Rise Against Hunger
- Matching gifts to our employees’ charities of choice
- Relief to victims of California’s devastating fires
While it’s important to celebrate our accomplishments, we’re not done yet. Just like P4P has ambitious goals, we too recognize that we have a demanding journey ahead of us.
In 2019, we will continue to make Juniper ever more inclusive and diverse and support our local communities. Our journey has just begun – stay tuned!
