Mark Zuckerberg’s charity has scrapped its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, despite reassuring staff it had no plans to implement any changes.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was set up by the Facebook founder and his wife, Priscilla Chan, in 2015, with the aim of eradicating some of society’s biggest issues and building a more inclusive and just society for all.

However, the organisation has announced a U-turn on its commitment to corporate diversity and will no longer prioritise internal and external DEI efforts, including the decision to scrap its diversity team.

The latest move comes amid a wave of DEI backtracking among corporate America as some of the world’s largest firms respond to a series of executive orders made by President Donald Trump, aimed at dismantling DEI programmes in the federal government and private sector.

Amazon, Disney, Deloitte and Goldman Sachs are among other organisations to change their commitment to DEI amid pressure from government figures.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) had previously reassured staff that its support for DEI wouldn’t change.

But this week, The Guardian reported that executives at the charity told employees that it would be scrapping internal and external DEI efforts.

CZI chief operating officer, Marc Malandro, said in an e-mail to employees that given the “shifting regulatory and legal landscape”, the charity would “no longer have a diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility team”, The Guardian reported.

Meta, which is owned by Zuckerberg, last month announced it was scapping its DEI efforts due to a “shifting legal and policy landscape”.

However, CZI told employees that Meta’s changes to its DEI initiatives would not impact its own.

In a U-turn, the organisation has now announced it will also roll back on its “diverse slate practice”, which is an initiative designed to ensure candidates from diverse backgrounds are interviewed for all roles within the charity.

CZI is funded primarily by the profits made by Meta – acting as a philanthropic arm to the social media giant, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Much of Zuckerberg and Chan’s fortune, which has largely amassed from Meta, helps CZI to fund investments and grants towards good causes.

The husband and wife duo both act as co-chief executives of the organisation.

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