Executives at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) informed employees on Tuesday evening that the organization would in effect do away with both internal and external diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, according to an internal email and other correspondence viewed by the Guardian.
When Meta early this year decided it would end its own DEI efforts, CZI employees grew concerned that their organization would follow since the company and the foundation often enact similar corporate policies.
To that end, CZI also conducted layoffs within its community team, formerly part of the organization where work has focused on affordable housing and “economic inclusion”, and moved other members of the team elsewhere within the organization.
Despite CZI’s top HR executive telling staff last month: “Meta’s changes to its DEI efforts does not impact ours,” employees had remained wary the organization would stick to its commitments.
CZI’s billions of dollars in funding for investments and grants flows from Zuckerberg and Chan’s enormous personal fortune created by Meta, the social media company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp that Zuckerberg co-founded more than 20 years ago.
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