Amazon To Work At Increasing Board Diversity

In an attempt to increase gender equality and equal work force representation, Amazon.com Inc said Yesterday it is looking at adopting a policy whereby women and people of colour are included in the pool for all board meetings. This essentially means that Amazon is agreeing to promote diversity on its board of directors.

“The Amazon Board of Directors has adopted a policy that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee include a slate of diverse candidates, including women and minorities, for all director openings,” the company said in a Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Monday. “This policy formalizes a practice already in place.”

This policy was proposed after Amazon employees raised a protest against the current structuring of the board. At the moment, the 10 member board is made of all white people, with only 3 women. The new policy, known as the Rooney Rule, was first adopted during the National Football League, where it required all members of the team to interview at least one person of colour everytime a new managerial position opens.

The policy was issued after a joint proposal on the matter was issued by the current shareholders of Amazon.com Inc. submitted by the Master Trust of the Service Employees International Union and CtW Investment Group, which works with pension funds affiliated with a federation of unions, said Amazon’s board failed to convert verbal support for diversity to practical action.

“Shareholders have long believed that embracing diversity will benefit companies by providing greater access to talent, harnessing existing talent more effectively, and improving decision making by reducing groupthink and similar psychological biases,” the proposal, dated 27 April, read. The policy ensures the adherence of a practice already in place, thereby making the hiring process extremely formal. Amazon.com Inc., is working at ensuring there is no disparity whatsoever in the hiring process going forward.