Mozilla Foundation’s last diversity and inclusion (D&I) disclosure was published in spring of 2018, and covered the period from January to December 2017. In the two years since then, Mozilla Foundation has fostered regular dialogues internally about our initiatives and progress. Today, we're releasing a D&I disclosure which gives more detailed description of the state of our diversity as of August 2020.
Mozilla defines “diversity” as the mix of people in our organization, and “inclusion” as ensuring all those people have the support necessary to work well together, to speak up, and to listen intently. We recognize that diversity has many facets, and we strive to expand both how we understand it and how we report it.
To read the full diversity and inclusion disclosure please keep reading or click this link.
Introduction
This document provides insight into Mozilla Foundation’s diversity and inclusion (D&I) data and initiatives. Established in 2003, the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation fights for an internet that is open and accessible to all. The Foundation is also the sole shareholder in Mozilla Corporation, the maker of Firefox and other open source tools. This report focuses solely on Mozilla Foundation.
Mozilla Foundation’s last D&I disclosure was published in spring of 2018, and included data from the period of January to December 2017. In the two years since then, Mozilla Foundation has fostered regular dialogues internally about our initiatives and progress.
In this report, we provide a more detailed description of the state of our diversity as of August 2020. We also provide a high level overview of plans we have moving forward, including those outlined in our June 2020 Racial Justice Commitments .
Diversity and Inclusion at Mozilla Foundation
In order to be as transparent as possible about the current state of D&I at Mozilla Foundation, it’s important to first define diversity and inclusion. Mozilla defines “diversity” as the mix of people in our organization, and “inclusion” as ensuring all those people have the support necessary to work well together, to speak up, and to listen intently. This isn’t just aspirational thinking or lofty ideals — it’s smart business. We need staff and community members who understand, listen to, and collaborate with each other, and who accurately represent the global community we serve. Lastly: We recognize that diversity has many facets, and we strive to expand both how we understand it and how we report it.
Methodology
All staff diversity data are self-reported and drawn from Mozilla Foundation’s Human Resources Information System (HRIS) for full time and part time staff, not including contingent workers, as of August 10, 2020. Program diversity data is collected by Mozilla Foundation staff/teams; gender is self reported by individual participants.
Leadership representation is comprised of all directors and the executive team. At the moment we are only able to collect race and ethnicity data from the U.S. therefore the data below are for U.S. employees only, and categories are driven by U.S. government requirements for disclosure. It is part of our future work to explore how we can track more diversity measures outside of the United States. We share more about our organization’s work and finances as part of our annual State of Mozilla report.
For reporting purposes, where numbers are small enough that individuals may be identifiable, we include them in a larger group. For example, the group “non-male” includes female and other gender identities. We have excluded those who have declined to state from the gender and race data and analyses. Where the term People of Color (POC) is used it includes those who self identify as Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, two or more races, Black or African American, or other.
Data and Metrics
In order to present a full picture of Mozilla Foundation, there are two buckets of data that need to be included: internal staffing data and programmatic data. Our staffing data gives a picture of who we are. The programmatic data speaks to our work’s focus.
Who We Are
Our staff come from varied professional, educational, and cultural backgrounds and are located around the world. But we share a common goal: From our fundraising experts to our engineers, we care about making the internet a better place. We also strive to uphold this principle internally: Mozilla Foundation does a lot of work to monitor the organizational culture, including stay interviews with staff and semi-annual engagement surveys. We know that a culture of openness, equity, and diversity will enable us to project these same principles outward.
Geography
Mozilla Foundation now has staff in six countries and we are exploring ways to more efficiently bring staff on elsewhere, as restrictions can make it difficult to employ outside of our four main countries (U.S., UK, Canada, and Germany).
Currently, just over half of our staff are based in the U.S., and almost a third are based in Canada. We know that this inherently creates a North American bias in our work, which is why we’re striving for more staff based elsewhere.
Gender
Globally, our staff is 68% female, 29% male, and 2% other gender identities (all self-identified). This is an increase in representation of female and other gender identities from our last report in 2017 of 58% and 0% respectively.
Our directors and executive team in the U.S. are 58% female and other gender identities, and 42% male. (Where a group is small enough that an individual may be identifiable, we have grouped data together. In this case “other” data and “female” data have been combined.)
Gender by Job Level
Not only is it important to have gender diversity in our organization as a whole, but it is also important to understand how gender is distributed across job levels. All of our roles are evaluated and assigned a job level on a scale ranging from 10 to 19 based on the tasks, responsibilities, knowledge, and skill requirements for the job. For example, a director would be a level 17 through 19. Executives are outside of the numbered system and are grouped into the level ‘Exec’.
Currently, males trend higher in job levels than females or other identifying staff. So, while there are fewer men in the organization, their average job level is higher. We are working toward an even gender distribution across all levels.
Gender by Team
Some occupational fields are typically dominated by either males or females for a variety of reasons, some of which may include bias. To identify and combat potential biases at the Mozilla Foundation, we examine existing gender splits on each team. Some of our teams are very small, so for reporting purposes we include the larger branch of teams under each of our Vice Presidents. In this grouping, all of our larger teams have a higher representation of women, the biggest gap being in our Global Programs group, where “female” and/or “other” represent 79% of staff.
Pay Equity
Each Mozilla Foundation job level correlates to a range of pay, but cost of living by geography is also a consideration and makes direct comparison of salary difficult. By using the measurement “percentage of maximum for a pay range,” and removing the location differentials we can compare salaries for individuals within each band. Notably, what this doesn't control for is length of service and performance (annual merit increases can affect where one falls in the band).
Pay Equity: Ethnicity
Based on data from August 2020 there are only three job levels in the U.S. with both staff of color and white staff that we can use for comparison. The graph below compares percentages of maximum salary for levels 13, 15, and 16 in the U.S., and shows that in two of the three levels (15 and 16), people of color (POC) are on average paid more than non-POC. The table shows a comparison for each job level and the average salary comparison ratio (.99:1.0). As we increase representation of POC on staff, we will be able to monitor and report on this more robustly.
Pay Equity: Gender
In four of our job levels we have comparison data for gender: 14-17. This captures 67% of our staff globally. Female staff earn more than male in bands 13 and 14, but less in the top two bands. Again the average female to male earnings ratio is .99:1.0.
Ethnicity
The following discussion pertains only to our staff in the United States because of restrictions limiting our ability to collect data elsewhere. We intend to find responsible ways to access and collect this information in the future.
Since our last disclosure in 2017, our U.S. staff has become less diverse, with a drop in POC on staff from nearly 30% to 21%. As part of our racial justice action plan, we are committed to investing in retention of diverse talent, creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
Latin/Hispanic and Asian staff make up 6% each of our regular workforce in the U.S., and those identifying as “Black,” “two or more races,” or “other” make up 3% each. In U.S. leadership, both Latino/Hispanic staff and staff identifying as two or more races make up 25% each. We have committed to doubling our Latinx and Black representation on staff in the U.S., and increasing Black representation in leadership in the U.S. to 6%.
Our Programs
Below, we discuss Mozilla Foundation’s programmatic work through the lens of diversity and inclusion. Our examination and planning for D&I work within programs is ongoing. As a result, the information below is by no means exhaustive. We aim to publish more frequent updates on our progress throughout the next year.
Internet Health Report
The 2019 Internet Health Report examined topics like bias in AI, access differences between wealthy and poor countries, and online harassment of female journalists. The report included contributions from individuals across 32 different countries, although the majority of contributions were from the U.S., Germany, UK, and Canada. There is an equal contribution rate between males and females, although none of those who disclosed this information self-identified as other or non-binary.
In 2020, the Internet Health Report team is working with communities and partners globally to understand how the publication can better resonate in their region.
IHR Contributions by Country
Mozfest
MozFest is Mozilla Foundation’s annual community gathering that brings together people from across the internet health movement (and across the world). The MozFest team works to attract and support participants from underrepresented communities and diverse backgrounds through initiatives like stipends and childcare.
At MozFest 2019, we hosted attendees from 83 countries and supported sessions in eight languages. The majority of participants were from the U.K. — a result of the London location of MozFest — followed by the U.S. and Canada.
We intend to report more fully on diversity at MozFest 2021. For more in-depth information about how the MozFest team is working towards their D&I goals, read this blog post.
Advocacy
Our advocacy campaigns throughout the last year have focused on marginalized communities and racial justice. For example, our campaign urging Amazon Ring to end facial recognition and police partnerships is, at its core, a campaign against bias and systemic racism. Several other campaigns, listed below, have had similar foci.
Going forward, we are committed to prioritizing advocacy campaigns around issues that disproportionately impact communities of color.
Fellowships and Awards
In 2019, Mozilla granted 68 awards and sponsorships (support funding to non-profit organizations for events) totaling $3,993,333. Of these awards and sponsorships, 66% were granted to individuals and organizations in the U.S. and 25% were granted to recipients in Europe.
In terms of dollars invested, $3,679,286 (92%) of Mozilla Foundation’s award and sponsorship funds were granted to recipients in the U.S. This focus was driven primarily by the Responsible Computer Science Challenge, through which Omidyar Network, Mozilla, Schmidt Futures, and Craig Newmark Philanthropies awarded $2.4 million to U.S. universities and colleges to develop and pilot curricula that integrate ethics with undergraduate computer science training.
Mozilla Foundation has committed to direct at least 40% of awards in 2020 to Black-led projects or organizations, with specific targets to come for 2021.
Over the last two cohorts of Mozilla Foundation fellows (beginning in 2018 and ending in 2020) almost half have been located in Europe, with almost a quarter of the two cohorts each in Africa and North America. The least represented geographical area is South America with only 4% of fellows, followed by Asia with 9%. In line with our intention to focus outside of North America and Europe we anticipate that we will aim to recruit a larger representation of fellows from the Global South in the coming cohorts.
Summary and what’s ahead
If Mozilla Foundation seeks to empower global and marginalized communities, then we need their voices in our work. We are committed to making changes to both our internal organization and our programs to better fight for racial justice and to better represent communities outside of North America and Western Europe.
Mozilla Foundation, along with Mozilla Corporation, has made specific commitments to racial justice and D&I. These commitments address both internal and programmatic work.
Internally, we need to increase our hiring capability beyond the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the UK. We have committed to doubling the current percentage of Black and Latinx representation of U.S. staff. To do this, we need to develop outreach programs, create a recruiting pipeline, and debias our hiring process. We also need to retain these staff once hired.
In our programmatic work, we have committed to direct at least 40% of Mozilla Foundation awards in 2020 to Black-led projects or organizations. We will develop new college engagement programs with funding for historically Black colleges (HBCU) and universities and Black student networks. We will also seek out online AI, ethics, and racial justice courses through HBCUs.
We have also committed to focusing brand and social media efforts on people and organizations standing for Black lives and communities.
In the coming months, we will be working with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consultants to review our organization and our D&I action plans to ensure that we address all areas in which we can make improvements. We will work on ways to expand how we track ethnicity and other aspects of diversity internally, in our programs, and outside of the United States so that we can make more informed decisions and present a more detailed picture of our organization.
More information can be found in Mark and Mitchell's June blog post First Steps Toward Lasting Change