Around two-thirds of Amazon’s employees are people of color, with more Hispanic and black employees working for the company than ever before. But it’s not all good news. Most of their employees holding the top senior positions are still male and white. Corporate America had pledged to do better, promising to diversify its leadership and encourage equality and fairness. However, despite the many benefits of a diverse workforce, firms like Amazon still lack when it comes to their top jobs. Diversity in senior roles can help companies gain a competitive edge in recruitment, secure access to more talent, and improve their global relevance.
Amazon Senior Roles Filled By White Males
The senior positions at Amazon are still disproportionately filled by male and white people, despite the company pledging to create a leadership and workforce that better reflects its customers. Just 37 executives at Amazon, equivalent to 1.4%, are black women and just 26, under 1%, were Hispanic women. For two years in a row, the company has pledged to double the number of black employees at the vice president and director levels and employ at least 40% more black interns in software development engineering. However, white employees at Amazon are currently five times more likely than their Hispanic colleagues and seven times more likely than their black colleagues to fill top-level jobs.
Importance Of Diversity In Modern Business
Companies wanting to achieve greater financial returns quickly should invest more in their D&I efforts to employ a diverse workforce, especially in its C-suite. Highly inclusive companies are more likely to hit their financial goals by 120%. A diverse workplace creates a broader range of skills, experiences, and perspectives and allows for more effective ideas and innovative processes. It can help companies find the best talent to compete in an increasingly competitive market. Embracing diversity increases productivity, drives economic growth, and can ultimately strengthen a company’s bottom line.
How Employers Can Improve Diversity
Superficial policies are not enough to truly instigate real positive change. You need to develop a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy that solidifies both your intention and approach to creating a diverse workforce that gives employees the freedom to express themselves based on their unique perspectives. Inclusive work cultures should make people feel proud and valued and start with a diverse top management team that includes ethnic diversity, gender diversity, and sexual orientation. Creating a workforce and company culture that’s diverse and inclusive is everyone’s responsibility, so listen to your workers. Take on board their ideas, suggestions, and even complaints to help you create a culture of inclusion, trust, and transparency.
The benefits of employing an inclusive and diverse workforce are numerous, from growing your talent pool, improving your employees’ productivity and performance to acquiring valuable skills, talent, and experiences. But while an increasing number of companies in corporate America are announcing policies to promote a culture of diversity and inclusion, whether this leads to tangible outcomes remains to be seen.