Facebook’s Civil Rights Audit of its employees are white (44%) and Asian (43%), with less than 13% of its total workforce representative of African Americans, Hispanics and other ethnic groups combined. Facebook’s corporate board of directors and senior leadership are mostly comprised of white men, with the first appointment of an African American female in April 2019.1 Facebook provides statistics on its supplier diversity, including spending $404.3 million in 2018 with diverse suppliers, an increase of more than $170 million from the previous year.2 However, the report does not provide details on the total amount of spending with all suppliers nor has the company published specific data on its use of diverse-owned financial services firms, such as investment with diverse asset managers or deposits with minority-owned depository institutions.” In light of these concerns, the Audit Team has spent time drilling down on Facebook’s diversity and inclusion strategy, programs, and practices. The Audit Team has met with policy and program leaders at the company, several members of the Diversity & Inclusion team, a small group of employees who lead Facebook Resource Groups (FBRGs), as well as the executives who sponsor those groups. This section reviews the Auditors observations, and acknowledges both the progress and the areas for improvement. The Auditors have been pleased with recent announcements and changes by the company — they are both critical and signal a strong commitment to recognizing the importance of diversity and inclusion in all aspects of company operations. These include: • Elevating the role of the Chief Diversity Officer to report directly to the COO and sit in on all management team meetings led by either the CEO or COO. • A diverse supplier commitment of $1 billion in 2021 and every year thereafter. As part of that commitment, Facebook committed to spending at least $100 million annually with Black-owned suppliers. • A commitment to have 50% of Facebook’s workforce be from underrepresented communities by the end of 2023. (Facebook defines URM to include: women, people who are Black, Hispanic, Native American, or Pacific Islander, people with two or more ethnicities, people with disabilities, and veterans.) And, over the next five years, a commitment to have 30% more people of color, including 30% more Black people, in leadership positions. Training 1 million members of the Black community, in addition to giving 100,000 scholarships to Black students working toward digital skills certifications. Facebook’s goal in making this commitment is to ensure people have the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to succeed as we adjust to the COVID-19 world. Increasing Facebook’s previous $100 million global grant commitment by an additional $75 million available to Black-owned businesses in the US and to non-profits who support Black communities – as well as $25 million to Black creators to help amplify their stories on Facebook. The resources that Facebook has committed over the last seven years to develop new Diversity & Inclusion projects, initiatives and programs (which are described in detail below) are noteworthy. In at least some of these areas, the company has made progress. Yet, as Facebook leadership has publicly acknowledged, there is more work to do. 1 2 The Auditors note that this has since changed. There are now two African American women on Facebook’s board of directors. The Auditors note that Facebook has updated these figures in its recently released annual supplier diversity report which is referenced below. 60