Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Shifts Focus to AI and Science, Ends DEI and Social Advocacy Programs

Zuckerberg philanthropy ends DEI programs

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy has shuttered its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs as well as work on immigration reform as it reduces social advocacy work, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced Tuesday. "Given the shifting regulatory and legal landscape, we will no longer have a diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility team at CZI," CZI's chief operating officer Marc Malandro wrote in an email to staff on Tuesday. The three members of the team were moved to different roles and the philanthropy ended its "Diverse Slate Practice." Malandro said he and the team have reviewed CZI programs to "ensure that they align with our focus as a science philanthropy" and the "current legal and policy landscape." CZI decided a few years ago to "wind down social advocacy work" and funding and gear its primary focus to science, Malandro said. As part of the shift in focus, CZI eliminated its work on immigration reform and racial equity grantmaking. "There are a small number of multi-year grant commitments we made previously that we will still honor, but none of these will support political activism. Looking ahead, we expect CZI's increasing focus to continue to be pushing the frontiers of biology and AI," Malandro wrote. CZI was founded in 2015 by Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, to combat challenges in science and education and within communities. Looking forward, Malandro said CZI is focused on "four grand challenges," including the building of an AI-based virtual cell model, developing imaging systems for living cells, "instrumenting tissues" to research inflammation and "engineering and harnessing the immune system for early detection, prevention, and treatment of disease." The announcement comes weeks after Meta cut its DEI team and rolled back several related programs in a major shift in policy for the leading social media company. DEI programs have been a focus of political conversation since President Trump was sworn in last month. Days after his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to end "illegal preferences and discrimination" in government and help find ways to "encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI." Various federal agencies have purged staff of DEI-related positions, while major companies like Target, McDonald's and Walmart have ended or rolled back DEI policies.

Mark Zuckerberg's Philanthropy Cuts DEI Teams as It Becomes 'Science-First'

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has pulled back on DEI programs and "wound down" its social advocacy funding. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), a philanthropic organization founded by Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, is putting an end to its diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI) in a move that parallels Zuckerberg's recent cuts at Meta. The charity also recently cut back on its social advocacy work to focus on science and A.I. Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter Sign Up Thank you for signing up! By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime. See all of our newsletters The reorganization comes as CZI reviews its "programs and practices to ensure that they align with our focus as a science philanthropy as well as the current legal and policy landscape," said Marc Malandro, the organization's chief operating officer, in an internal email yesterday (Feb. 18). In 2015, Zuckerberg and Chan pledged to give away 99 percent of their Meta shares, then valued at $45 billion, and established CZI to do so. The couple serve as co-CEOs of the nonprofit, based in Redwood City, Calif. Over the past decade, the organization has committed about $7 billion in grants. CZI staffers earlier this year were reportedly reassured that the philanthropic initiative remains distinct from Zuckerberg's tech company and wouldn't be impacted by DEI pullbacks at Meta. In January, following an announcement from Zuckerberg that detailed cuts to Meta's fact-checking program and censorship efforts and were perceived by many as a way to curry favor with the Trump administration, the Big Tech company told employees it would dismantle its DEI team and eliminate programs like supplier diversity efforts, representation goals and a hiring approach ensuring candidates from underrepresented backgrounds were considered. This scrapped hiring approach, known as the "Diverse Slate Approach," was also a practice of CZI's -- until now. The strategy has been discontinued, announced Malandro, who noted that CZI will "continue to cast a wide net to source top candidates while always selecting the best candidate for the role." In light of a "shifting regulatory and legal landscape," CZI's diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility team will also be disbanded, with its its three members transitioning to different roles at the organization, said Malandro in his email. What else is changing at CZI? It isn't just CZI's DEI efforts that are undergoing shake-ups. When Zuckerberg and Chan initially established their philanthropic vehicle, its funding areas included political and social advocacy work like immigration reform and racial equity grants. In its 2020 annual letter, for example, CZI announced plans to give $500 million over the next five years to support organizations fighting for racial equity -- a pledge the initiative says it has completed. This type of funding has since been discontinued, according to Malandro, who doubled down on CZI's recent pivot towards science research studying challenges like cellular behavior, inflammation, and disease detection, prevention and treatment. While CZI's current focus areas consist of science, education and community-related grants, Chan last year reportedly told employees that the initiative's "next phase" will be as a science-first organization. Going forward, biology and A.I-related challenges will take priority for the nonprofit. "As we've focused on science, we've wound down our social advocacy funding," Malandro told CZI's employees, adding that no new programs in this area have been launched in recent years. "There are a small number of multiyear grant commitments we made previously that we still honor, but none of these will support political activism," he said.