Last Updated:
2/21/21 12:46 PM
overall rating:
keep going
Snapchat
Internal Representation & Support
59%
Public Commitment
32%
External Communication
64%
To evaluate this pillar, we take into consideration a range of factors, including but not limited to:
- Employee representation
- Diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI)
We weigh a company’s degree of public commitment primarily on their monetary contributions to DEI matters or organizations fighting racial injustice.
Forms of monetary support we look for:
One-off donations
Recurring donations
Grant initiatives
Employee donation matching
Highlights
Snapchat has created series in conjunction with celebrities such as Will Smith and Colin Kaepernick that demonstrate its continued commitment to highlighting issues of racial justice.
Lowlights
Snapchat stated that they would donate to causes promoting racial justice, but because CEO Evan Spiegel does not view philanthropy as a sufficient solution, the company did not release any specific donation numbers. In addition, Snapchat released a problematic Juneteenth filter that they subsequently had to pull after immediate backlash.
We scour the company’s website and official social media channels to determine what message they are sending around racial injustice, how they are communicating it, and whether their communications are perceived as genuine or performative.
Public statement: We verify that companies have made a formal statement regarding racial injustice.
Social media: We consider how a company uses their platform(s) beyond performative allyship.
Representation: For companies that have the opportunity to showcase diversity in their feed, we consider whether they have adequate Black representation and BIPOC representation across their models.
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Deep Dive
I. Internal Representation & Support:
Board of Directors:
12% - 13% Black, 11% - 15% BIPOC, 46% - 50% Women
Executive Leadership:
0% (none) Black, 11% - 15% BIPOC, 26% - 30% Women
4% - 5% Black, > 40% BIPOC, 31% - 35% Women
Workforce:
An appointed DEI senior leader and/or a dedicated DEI organization, A Black employee resource group
DEI Support:
II. Public Commitment
Snapchat has little to no evidence of any monetary commitment publicly available.
III. External Communications
Snapchat has issued a public statement, both on social media and in a public memo, addressing racial injustice that acknowledged that they can be doing better to combat racial inequality within their company, and explicitly stated "Black Lives Matter." Since June 2020, 10% - 20% of the brand's social media content has been centered around racial injustice with posts seeking to continue the momentum of BLM. While the brand does not regularly feature models in their social media posts, there is little to no evidence of additional actions the brand takes to show support of the LGBTQ+ community (beyond posting for Pride) or other marginalized communities.
