we value your difference.
![]()
![]()
At Palo Alto Networks, we challenge ourselves each day to create an environment where our employees feel safe and secure to be their authentic selves at work.
We embrace diversity because not only is it right and just, it is also vital to the continued success of our company. We believe that innovation can’t succeed without appropriate representation and an empowered workforce.
Innovation needs diversity to succeed.
We are challenging and actively changing the lack of diversity across the tech industry. Palo Alto Networks is committed to tackling this by expanding our inclusion initiatives to create an equitable playing field for all. Simply put, our workforce must reflect the world in which we live. We know the world is not a fair and level playing field, but we are righting that inside our organization.
Our three focus areas:
Embrace
We include every employee.
At Palo Alto Networks, people of all backgrounds can thrive. We have set the foundation to build an inclusive and equitable workplace and we are committed to this journey. This value of inclusion comes from our employees and we’re proud of our steps so far - let us share a little more:
We are building strength through our employee communities.
We’ve established several employee-developed network groups (ENGs) that foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with our values and actively servicing our goals.
The groups are employee initiated and driven, allowing us to amplify our inclusion and diversity efforts with a grass-roots approach and passion-led commitment across all levels throughout the company. We regularly and actively listen to understand their needs and priorities, and ensure executive alignment and support through quarterly listening sessions. We review our progress together on a regular basis, with transparency and open communication.
Our ENG’s enable a sense of community, encouraging and supporting employees to bring their whole selves to work, and providing input and representation at a leadership level, keeping diversity and inclusion in its rightful place at the top of our agenda.
Download ENG Summary
The groups are employee initiated and driven, open to everyone and led by a leadership team that directs the strategy and operations of the ENG in the interests of its community members and the company at large.
Commit
We engage every community.
Our pledge is to create more and broader pathways into tech and cybersecurity. We want to help people explore their curiosity earlier in their education and in easily accessible ways. This happens through our work with cybersecurity education programs, strategic partnerships, and recruiting channels focused on attracting candidates with diverse backgrounds, abilities, and expertise.
We are championing diversity through our strategic partnerships.
Through our key strategic partnerships we contribute to communities where employees live, work and volunteer. Our collaborative efforts with external partners enable us to build an industry ecosystem that promotes equity, diversity and inclusion - Inclusion Leader in Cybersecurity. We are committed to uplift and educate future generations that will continue to diversify the cybersecurity industry.
Examples of our partnerships include:
National Center for Women & Information Technology
National Center for Women & Information Technology
We are working to increase the number of women in the cybersecurity talent pipeline through our Workforce Alliance membership. NCWIT’s programs span the entire computing pipeline, including grades K–12 to industry.
Our current efforts in the works include:
- Developing toolkits for high schools and community colleges to increase awareness of cybersecurity careers.
- Sponsoring a computing collegiate award for cybersecurity.
- Sponsoring the annual NCWIT summit for leaders of diversity and inclusion in computing.
National Society of Black Engineers
National Society of Black Engineers
We aim to encourage and inspire NSBE members to pursue a career in cybersecurity by providing guidance and recommendations on course curriculum and security certifications so that members are primed for success in the industry.
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
We strive to advance the cyber education of our LatinX/Hispanic community and expand our pipeline of talent in the cyber security field through an active partnership with SHPE, the nation’s largest association dedicated to fostering Hispanic leadership in STEM fields where cybersecurity is an increasingly important segment.
VetsinTech
VetsinTech
We strive to advance the cyber education of our LatinX community and expand our pipeline of talent in the cyber security field through an active partnership with SHPE, the nation’s largest association dedicated to fostering Hispanic leadership in STEM fields where cybersecurity is an increasingly important segment.
Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA
Palo Alto Networks and GSUSA together introduce cybersecurity education to millions of girls across the United States designed to increase their interest and instill in them valuable 21st century skills.
This national effort is a huge step toward eliminating traditional barriers to industry access, and will target girls as young as five years old, helping to ensure that even the youngest girls have a foundation primed for future life and career success.
We are expanding the diversity of talent.
We are actively focusing our recruitment efforts on new channels, including the National Society for Black Engineers and universities with diverse populations. We have also partnered with organizations like Direct Employers and InHerSight, which allow us to post our open roles on 150+ sites, reaching many more candidates who are women, veterans, people with disabilities, and people of color.
We are preparing students for a successful career.
Our Cybersecurity Academy has a strong focus on Black, Hispanic, Women and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).
The Academy provides academia with cutting-edge courseware, virtual firewalls, labs and more. Thousands of academies in high schools, colleges, universities and other traditional teaching nonprofits offer our Cybersecurity Fundamentals that prepare students for the PCCET certification.
Our Inclusion and Diversity initiative around the world is continually expanding. In the US, it includes historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), all-girl high schools in addition to colleges and universities. Our Cybersecurity A.C.E.S are available globally, and we are particularly proud of our efforts to empower students with next-gen cyber skills in Africa and throughout the developing world.
We care about the communities we live and work in
Through our Corporate Responsibility (CR) initiatives we’re investing in causes that align employee interests with community needs. And through our social impact programs we support and uplift communities around the world. We believe protecting our digital way of life is a privilege, and we strive to educate our communities on all aspects of cybersecurity.
Find out more about how our corporate responsibility pillars intersect with our inclusion and diversity focus areas.
Lead
We advance our industry.
We are part of the solution when it comes to diversity in cybersecurity. We work with our customers and industry peers to promote equity, diversity and inclusion.
Our CEO leads by example
While we know advancing inclusion and diversity requires commitment and action at all levels of the organization, CEO leadership by example allows no ambiguity regarding the expectations we hold for employees and leaders. We have assembled a diverse board of directors with 33% Women, and URT representation and have steadily grown the diversity of our leadership team over the past 3 years.
Our CEO is an active participant in CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, a collaborative of leading CEOs working together to advance workplace diversity and inclusion
The Power of Leading From the Front: Encouraging Industry-Wide Diversity and Inclusion
Key initiatives we plan for the next year include:
Invest in our employees - to retain our diverse talent, we are
investing heavily in leadership capabilities, career development and growth.
We’re offering an informal, opt-in mentoring program where any employee can
connect and create an internal network and community for a greater sense of
belonging, a key component of an inclusive work environment.
Continually reinventing our hiring process - to create a scalable,
unbiased and predictive hiring process that ensures exceptional quality of
our interviews, the candidate experience, and that ensures objectivity.
Grow our CRM - we continue to build diverse pipelines for every open
role in our organization.
Expand early talent programs
- we’re expanding our programs in EMEA and JAPAC - as well as continuing to
partner with institutions like NSBE, NCWit, and VetsinTech all who are
serving those historically underrepresented in technical fields.
Build leader capabilities
- our FLEXLead framework focuses on the core competence of building an
inclusive environment where teams are diverse and all team members thrive.
Listen and learn
- we meet with our ENG communities to listen intently, to commit to
meaningful plans and act on what we learn.
Create dynamic, flexible work environments
- by personalizing the learning experience, we’re investing in the
continuous growth of our employees, uniquely
Invest in our employees
- by creating more flexible benefits with thousands of options, we’re
working to meet our employees needs, more diversely. This stipend can be
used on health and wellbeing, hobbies and sports, and household items -
giving far more choice back into the hands of our employees.
Our people in action.
Actions speak louder than words.
Getting ahead of tomorrow's cybersecurity threats requires a diverse and innovative team of problem solvers. We know that we still have some way to go and that one of the steps toward improving diversity is understanding and being transparent about where we are now.
Our journey requires focused effort and a measured, multi-year approach that will continuously evolve based on our progress and the need to adapt to changing societal conditions.
We openly share where we are today and the progress we’ve made. We know we have more work to do to realize our ambitions, but we’re committed and will provide updates on our journey and progress on this webpage and our blog.
Our progress and commitments
- PANW is a fair pay company: validated by external audit year over year
- There is no differential in our promotions for under-represented talent, validated through our performance cycles
- There is no differential in our ratings distribution for under-represented talent, validated through our performance cycles
- Since the beginning of FY21, 86% of our roles have included at least 2 diverse candidates at interviews prior to moving to offer.
- FLEXLocation offers increased remote and work-from-home opportunities. We intend for this to increase our access to diverse markets and populations.
- We created FLEXBenefits to represent the uniqueness of our individual employees - a stipend that can be spent in hundreds of ways that represents each of our employees, uniquely.
- We added amazing industry leaders to our board who bring extensive experience in complex, global organizations, including one of Forbes’ “100 Most Powerful Women” who became the first Black woman to join our already gender diverse board, now 33% women.
- For our executive team, we raised the representation of women to 36%, an increase of 4.9% YoY.
- 40% of FY22 External Hires for VP and above are diverse.
- Our 2020 graduate class was 52% women, 21% Under-represented Talent from over 100 schools.
Diversity trends
- Women
- Men
- Under-represented Talent (URT)
- VP+ women
- VP+ Under-represented Talent
Diversity by role
- White
- Asian
- Hispanic
- Black
- Two or more races
- Other
Diversity by job level
- White
- Asian
- Hispanic
- Black
- Two or more races
- Other
FLEXWORK for inclusivity
With FLEXWORK we are creating a way of working that celebrates and enables the
individuality of each person. FLEXWORK programs were developed in full collaboration
with our employees with inclusion and diversity at the core - recognizing employees
should be empowered to make the choices that best support their unique situation. Our
employees are able to create a work environment that fits their personal circumstances
through our FLEXLearn, FLEXBenefits and FLEXLocation programs.
With FLEXWORK, we recognize that every home and family situation is different, and we're
creating the flexibility for employees to balance their needs at work with their needs
at home.
