Amazon is the latest company to shift the tone of its approach to diversity and inclusion, according to internal memo released Dec. 16, reportedly obtained by CNBC.
What Candi Castleberry, Amazon’s VP of inclusive experiences and technology, outlined concretely is that Amazon unified separate employee resource groups.
“Rather than have individual groups build programs, we are focusing on programs with proven outcomes — and we also aim to foster a more truly inclusive culture,” Castleberry said in the memo.
HR Dive reached out to Amazon and Amazon representatives several times but did not hear back by the time of publication.
“In the last few years we took a new approach, reviewing hundreds of programs across the company, using science to evaluate their effectiveness, impact, and ROI — identifying the ones we believed should continue. Each one of these addresses a specific disparity, and is designed to end when that disparity is eliminated,” Castleberry said.
Subtle changes in policy framing
Previous practices were characterized as “bolted on.” Now, Castleberry said, Amazon seeks to “move away from programs that were separate from our existing processes,” instead moving toward programs that are “built in” and “born inclusive.”
The memo did not explicitly say that Amazon will be eliminating DEI at the company, despite headlines that claim as much.
Still, while Amazon’s policy positions webpage has stated and does state, as of Jan. 13, “that inequitable treatment of anyone — including Black people, LGBTQ+ people, Asians, women, and others — is unacceptable,” the company has eliminated the specific Black equity and LGBTQ+ rights sections from its website.
What Amazon’s policy page looks like on Jan. 14, 2025.
Previously between the “Diversity, equity, and inclusion” and the “Immigration reform” sections existed two sections titled “Equity for Black people” and “LGBTQ+ rights,” according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback machine.
An earlier version of Amazon’s policy page included more explicit support for Black people and LGBTQ+ people.
On Dec. 17, 2024, for example, Amazon’s website contained a statement on the inequitable treatment of Black people.
“We stand in solidarity with our Black employees, customers, and partners, and we are committed to helping build a country and a world where everyone can live with dignity and free from fear,” it previously said. “We support legislation to combat misconduct and racial bias in policing, efforts to protect and expand voting rights, and initiatives that provide better health and educational outcomes for Black people.”
Similarly, on Dec. 17, 2024, Amazon’s website contained open commitment to LGBTQ+ rights.
“We were early and strong supporters of marriage equality and will continue to advocate for protections and equal rights for transgender people. We stand together with the LGBTQ community and are working at the U.S. federal and state level on legislation, including supporting passage of the Equality Act,” the website once said.
The page also made note of gender-affirming care provided by the company, aligned with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s best practices.
These aspects of Amazon’s front-facing policy no longer exist on this page.
Par for the course, for some
Shareholders at some companies, such as Lululemon and Costco, appear to be sticking to DEI as a business practice — whether for pure profit or moral reasons remains to be seen.
Other employers are continuing last year’s trend of backing away from DEI. Amazon’s changes became public knowledge around the same time that news broke that Meta cut DEI roles and programs.
Castleberry did note, however, that Amazon “believe[s] this is important work, so we’ll keep investing in programs that help us reflect those audiences, help employees grow, thrive, and connect.”