Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

We are committed to a workplace without discrimination.

Learning from best practices, ingenuity, and business experience and knowledge, we create a working environment where everyone feels they can belong. We strive for inclusion, provide equity, commit to equality, and create diversity together, driving better business outcomes.

We are dedicated to providing an environment in which all employees are recognized, valued, and accepted for who they are regardless of race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or age. We are committed to a workplace without discrimination. Our non-discrimination policy is contained within our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.

Responsibility for coordinating and executing diversity efforts sits with our Senior Director for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, who reports to our Chief People Officer. We use internal Pulse Surveys to assess our performance on diversity and inclusion and monitor external benchmarking data to evaluate our actions. We are also delivering Conscious Inclusion workshops across the company in 2021, using an interactive format to maximize the sharing experience and reflect upon the past while making commitments to think and act differently going forward.

2020 Women on Boards Winning ‘W’ Company

Since 2016, we have been recognized as a 2020 Women on Boards Winning ‘W’ Company, due to our commitment to maintaining a gender-diverse board of directors and for having 20 percent or more of our board seats held by female directors.

30 percent of our directors are female.

Read more in our governance section about board diversity, and learn about our supplier diversity efforts in our sustainable supply chain.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

By valuing our differences we become stronger, more competitive, more innovative, and more creative. We encourage our employees to join our employee resource groups of passionate people who represent the diversity of our workforce. These groups exemplify our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging. Bringing people together strengthens the voice of our individuals, educates others on specific requirements, and unleashes the power of diverse thinking to innovate and achieve better outcomes for our employees, our communities, and our business.

Women at CienaAims to break down barriers that exist for women and encourage them to lift their voices in our workforce and communities. The group participates in initiatives such as mentoring, coaching, and development discussions. For example, Women at Ciena hosts an annual event to celebrate International Women’s Day with featured speakers who share their perspective and insight on material subjects.

Black and African Heritage (B&AH) at CienaFocuses on increasing the representation, visibility, and contributions of its members. The group hosts broadly accessible programming on racial justice, allyship, and professional development with special activities for Black History Month. B&AH is also working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for recruitment, as well as our Learning Team on conscious inclusion training, mentorship, and leadership development programs to build the pipeline of Black leaders. In 2020, B&AH leveraged the Ciena Cares program to sponsor volunteers supporting voting rights, and in 2021 is focused on bringing training and upskilling opportunities to underserved communities where there is a digital gap.

CienaNext!Drives engagement, development, and connection for our early-in-career employees who are just starting off their professional journey. The group focuses on networking to build cross-functional collaboration both inside and outside the company, and innovation to promote change as well as learning and development. This group of active, passionate employees can also leverage mentorship opportunities and resources focused on learning and development for employees currently in school, recent graduates, and those exploring their professional development.

Pride at CienaSupports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals, as well as employees who have family, friends, or colleagues who identify as LGBTQ. The group also aims to gather allies—those who are not necessarily from the community, but support and advocate for LGBTQ people. We want our company to be a safe place—where everyone feels comfortable expressing their views and ideas—for all individuals and their families, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Training and development

Community engagement