Amazon said it is halting some of its diversity and inclusion initiatives, joining a growing list of major corporations that have made similar moves in the face of public scrutiny and growing legal.
In a Dec. 16 internal note to employees obtained by CNBC, Candi Castleberry, Amazon's VP of inclusive knowledge and technology, said the company was in the process of “ending legacy programs and products.” -fashionable” as part of a wider study of hundreds. of enterprises.
“Instead of individual organizations building programs, we are focusing on programs with proven results – and we also aim to foster a more inclusive culture,” Castleberry wrote in the memo, which was released first reported by Bloomberg.
Castleberry's memo does not say which programs the company is dropping as a result of its review. The company usually releases annual data on the racial and gender makeup of its workforce, and it also employs Black, LGBTQ+, Indigenous and veterans. employee resource organizationsamong others.
In 2020, Amazon set a goal to double the number of Black employees in the positions of vice president and director. He announced the same goal in 2021 and also promised to hire 30% more Black workers for product manager, engineer and other corporate positions.
Meta on Friday he made a similar retreat from its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The social media company said it is ending its approach to considering qualified applicants from underrepresented groups for open positions and its equity and inclusion training programs. The decision drew backlash from Meta employees, including one employee who wrote, “If you don't stick to your principles when the going gets tough, they're not values . They are hobbies.”
Other companies, including McDonald's, Walmart and Fordtoo made changes to their DEI initiatives a few months ago. Rising conservation backlash and the Supreme Court rule against affirmative action in 2023 has prompted many corporations to change or discontinue their DEI programs.
Amazon, the nation's second largest private employer behind Walmart, has also made changes “Our Roles” web page, which explains the company's position on a number of policy issues. Previously, there were separate sections for “Equality for Black People,” “Diversity, equity and inclusion” and “LGBTQ+ rights,” according to records from the Internet Archive Wayback Tool.
The current web page has streamlined these sections into a single paragraph. The section says that Amazon believes in creating a diverse and inclusive company and that no one can be treated unfairly. The Information he described the previous changes.
Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel told CNBC in a statement: “We update this page from time to time to make sure it reflects the updates we've made to various programs and positions. “
Read the full memo from Amazon's Castleberry:
team,
As we approach the end of the year, I want to give another update on the work we have been doing around representation and inclusion.
As a large, global company operating in different countries and industries, we serve hundreds of millions of customers from a range of backgrounds and diverse communities around the world. To serve them effectively, we need millions of employees and partners who reflect our customers and our communities. We strive to be representative of those customers and build a culture that is inclusive for everyone.
In recent years we've taken a new approach, reviewing hundreds of programs across the company, using science to assess their effectiveness, impact and ROI – identifying the those we believed should continue. Each of these deals with a specific difference, and is designed to end when that difference is eliminated. At the same time, we worked to unite employee groups under one umbrella, and create programs that are open to all. Instead of individual organizations building programs, we are focusing on programs with proven results – and we also aim to promote a more inclusive culture. You can read more about this on our Together at the Amazon page on A to Z.
This approach – where we move away from programs that were separate from our existing processes, and instead integrate our work into processes that ' already exist until they become stable – as the evolution to “build in” and “born inclusive,” instead of “enhanced.” “As part of this evolution, we have been phasing out old programs and materials, and we aim to complete that by the end of 2024. We also know that there will always be individuals or there are teams that continue to do things in good faith, not according to our company-wide approach, and we may not see them right away.
We will continue to share ongoing updates, and we appreciate your hard work in driving this progress. We believe this is important work, so we will continue to invest in programs that help us show that audience, help employees grow, thrive and connect, and we remain committed to delivering inclusive experiences for customers, employees and communities around the world.
#Here Together,
Candy
