You may not think that slavery is still a major problem worldwide, and you'd be wrong. As Oakland-based Slavery Footprint can show you via their handy web-based survey, you might have as many as 53 slaves working for you (that was our number) right now! Luckily, this fine organization, along with two other non-profits with similar missions, have received a $1.8 million grant from Google.org to raise awareness of modern-day slavery and work to eradicate it in the United States and overseas.

Based in Oakland, Slavery Footprint "works to engage individuals, groups, and businesses to build awareness for and create deployable action against forced labor, human trafficking, and modern day slavery." They do this largely through technology and social media, including the online slave "calculator" launched this fall.

[Editors' Sidebar: Horrifyingly, as we took their "How Many Slaves Work For You?" survey and got to the gender/age step, Step 2, we find that our avatar changes from adorable young man to bespectacled, moustachio'd creep at age 35. We would like to take this up with the graphic designer, STAT.]

Via this calculator, we learn that the majority of our slaves appear to be in China, where, as Slavery Footprint tells us, "Coal mines, brick kilns and factories in the poorest regions of China operate illegally, using much of China’s estimated 150 million internal migrants as slaves. Raw materials from slavery include: Acrylic, Cashmere, Coal, Cotton, Gold, Graphite, Leather, Limestone, Linen, Mercury, Nylon, Pearl, Quartz, Silicon, Silk, Silver, Tin, Tungsten, Wool, Pig Iron, Lead, Lithium, Polyester." Take the survey. It takes less than five minutes and includes a lot of other facts, like the practice of conscripting boys in Pakistan for labor at age 13, which they're forced to continue until age 30.

As part of the grant, two other non-profits, Polaris Project and International Justice Mission, will join Slavery Footprint on a joint initiative being funded by Google. This initiative is one of three multi-year collaborative partnerships funded in total of $9.8 million, part of $11.5 million in total funding committed by Google.org to anti-slavery organizations. Justin Dillon, founder and CEO of Slavery Footprint, says the grant from Google marks a turning point for the modern abolition movement. "To date, the movement has relied heavily on anecdote and emotion," he says. "Google’s support allows us greater empiricism, making us all the more successful."