AMAZON – one of the world’s largest companies – and a perceived aspiring leader in global EDI has come under fire after two senior black executives left the firm – leaving commentators to question its credentials.
Two years ago, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos vowed to do more on diversity after being questioned by staff about the company’s diversity policy – and now commentators claim that aim is in tatters.
The news of the departures is made worse by the timing – last Monday (June 19) which was Juneteenth in America – a significant date in the Diversity calendar as it recognises the emancipation of black people from slavery in the US. President Joe Biden made it a federal holiday in the US last year.
Two senior Black executives Alicia Boler Davis and Dave Bozeman were expected to take on prominent roles after Bezos’ comments, but they have left and all four senior positions on Amazon are now held by white middle-aged men – leading commentators to claim that Diversity is floundering at one of the US and world’s biggest companies.
Amazon staff were informed about these departures through an email sent by John Felton, Amazon’s newly appointed logistics chief.
Boler Davis, who oversaw Amazon’s primary warehouses, was widely regarded as a top candidate for the logistics position.
Bozeman was in charge of the system of long-distance vehicles and aircraft that moved cargo around Amazon’s network.
Amazon.com Inc.’s executive team has changed several times in the past one and a half years.
White males have held all four positions, including the chief executive officer, as well as new leaders for its most crucial businesses, cloud computing, retail, and logistics.
Some businesses celebrated Juneteenth by offering paid time off or other advantages. Monday was a working day at Amazon though, and many states have yet to implement it as a holiday – only 18 have made it a public holiday. Most states do mark the occasion.
Boler Davis and Bozeman’s departure was lamented by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in a memo to top executives on Tuesday (21).
Even though Amazon had made “significant progress” in recruiting Black managers over the previous two years, Jassy said in the memo that “it’s not lost on any of us that we’re losing two of our most senior Black leaders”.
According to Jassy, he and his team are dedicated to hiring and developing more Black professionals as well as people from other underrepresented groups.
In 2020, the company had set goals to double the representation of Black directors and vice presidents, launched inclusion training for all ‘Amazonians’, and remove racially insensitive language in the tech documentation. In 2021, it has also set company-wide goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Meanwhile, there have been other notable exits during the past 12 months.
The two most prominent female executives in Amazon’s devices division—the team behind Alexa—Miriam Daniel and Toni Reid, have both left for Google.
Some commentators defending Amazon say that not too much can be read into these job changes.
People quit their professions for a variety of reasons, including the desire to experiment with new challenges, they say.
Many EDI specialists say that this is not a good look for a company with such a high profile.
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