Snap Diversity Annual Report Details 2020 Progress, Initiatives for 2021 and Beyond

Thursday is a big day for diversity, equity and inclusion at Snap Inc., as the company released its Diversity Annual Report for 2021 and detailed the formation of a new industry coalition along those lines. Dell Technologies, Intel, Nasdaq, NTT Data and Snap introduced the Alliance for Global Inclusion Thursday, saying that the group developed shared DEI metrics based on an Intel global survey last year to determine DEI progress at 13 major companies. The Alliance for Global Inclusion will focus its efforts on four major areas: inclusive language, inclusive product development, leadership representation and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) readiness in underserved communities. The group's goals and metrics include: Developing representation guidance for board of director roles and direct reports to CEOs that reflect the customers and communities served.Driving awareness, dialog and industrywide change for inclusive language in products and documentation, amplified through partnerships with standards bodies and academic institutions.Leveraging existing intervention points in artificial intelligence product development to mitigate bias and embed DEI considerations into AI product lifecycles.Improving STEM readiness in higher education for youth in underserved communities by increasing technology access and partnering with wrap-around support services. Snap detailed the results of its DEI initiatives in 2020 in the report it released Thursday, citing “promising gains” in some areas, but admitting to falling short in others. Highlights include: Women in tech leadership roles (director level and above) more than doubled from 2019 through 2020, to 13.7% from 6.7%.Black women accounted for 5.1% of total hires, up from 2%.Snap’s board now contains eight independent directors, four of whom are women.Hispanic and Latinx representation at the company slipped from 6.9% in 2019 to 6.8% in 2020.Asian representation in leadership fell to 14.3% from 16.5%. Snap outlined representation goals that it committed to meet by the end of 2025: Increase underrepresented U.S. racial and ethnic groups to 20%.Increase women in tech roles to 25%.Increase women and U.S. racial and ethnic groups by 30% in leadership. In its report, Snap detailed several initiatives it is implementing within the company to help reach those goals. The company is rolling out new tools for team members, called “3i framework,” providing them with guidance and tactics to embed equity into their work, whether via personal interactions with colleagues, product design work or engaging with the Snapchat community. On the recruiting and hiring front, Snap is implementing a more structured review process to evaluate candidates based on the company values of kind, smart and creative, and not on “culture fit.” It also eliminated the requirement of a four-year college degree for many new positions. Snap’s performance review process for all team members was redesigned to measure DEI contributions, which will factor into decisions about promotions and performance-based awards. Executives will be reviewed for progress on DEI strategies each quarter, with those reviews linked to their executive performance evaluations and bonus recommendations. Snap will provide leaders of its employee resource groups with professional development resources and reward them with additional equity grants. The company will continue investing in strategies to develop and retain talent from underrepresented groups, including an expansion of its Snap Academies programs for students from underrepresented communities. Enrollment will be doubled in the Snap Up program, through which the company hires recent college graduates with little or no tech experience as full-time engineering apprentices. “Inclusion by Design” principles are being added to Snap’s product development process, meaning that the company will consider the impacts of a feature on the front end of the design process and only release products that survive intensive reviews. A new director of engineering inclusion will help craft the engineering team’s new approach to DEI. The company’s most important product, the Snapchat camera, is first up, as Snap said it will build a more inclusive camera that works for all Snapchatters, regardless of ability, age, body size, language, skin tone and other factors. The company is working with outside experts, including directors of photography. Finally, Snap committed to double its spending with creative talent, suppliers and vendors owed by underrepresented groups by 2023. Co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel and vice president of DEI Oona King wrote in the report, “In 2021, we are making DEI fundamental to everything we do—from who we hire, to the algorithms we design, to our products that support creativity and friendship. Some of our work will pay off this year, while other work to tackle root causes of inequity may not bear fruit for a generation. And although we are disappointed by how slow progress can be, we are also more optimistic than ever that change is on the horizon.”

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Snap Diversity Annual Report Details 2020 Progress, Initiatives for 2021 and Beyond

Snapchat’s parent teamed up with Dell, Intel, Nasdaq and NTT Data to form the Alliance for Global Inclusion

David Cohen

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David Cohen