February 20, 2025 – The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), a philanthropic organization co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, has unexpectedly announced the termination of all internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, according to a report by The Guardian. This decision comes as a surprise, as the organization had assured its employees just weeks ago that it would continue to support DEI initiatives.
In an email to employees, obtained by The Guardian, CZI’s Chief Operating Officer Marco Marendo stated that the organization would shift its resources towards funding in the areas of “biology and artificial intelligence.” Additionally, CZI has canceled its Science Diversity Leadership Awards, which had previously granted $1.5 million to researchers, and ended its “Diverse Candidate Slate Practice,” which required the interview of diverse candidates for all open positions.
“Given the evolving regulatory and legal landscape, CZI will no longer have a dedicated Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility team,” Marendo wrote in the email.
This decision marks a complete reversal from the messages CZI had previously communicated to its employees. In early February, The Guardian reported that some employees had expressed concerns about whether CZI would continue to uphold its values after Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced the cancellation of its own DEI programs. At that time, CZI’s Head of Human Resources, Mark Gondak, assured employees that the changes at Meta would not affect CZI’s operations.
However, Marendo’s email announcing the changes states that these adjustments are being made to help CZI “better focus on our core mission as a science philanthropy.” As of now, CZI has not responded to requests for comment from the media.
