Representation

We’re committed to increasing representation of employees from historically underrepresented backgrounds at every level of our organization. To do so, we focus on hiring, retention, growth, development, and promotion.

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Welcoming Diverse Talent

To find the best talent and support our search for diverse talent, we partner with organizations and academic institutions linked to underrepresented communities.

Students from HBCUs at Beyond the Yard event wear shirts with their school logos.

In the U.S., these organizations include historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, women’s colleges, and tribal colleges.

Students visit Amazon’s campus for a range of programs and career enrichment experiences, such as our Represent the Future Summit. We also partner with organizations like Grace Hopper Celebration, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Consortium Fellows, AfroTech, AnitaB.Org, Lesbians Who Tech, Girls in Tech, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and others.

Spotlight
Representation matters. We track the representation of women and underrepresented communities because we know that diversity helps us build better teams that obsess over and better represent our global customer base.

We have made year-over-year progress, and we will continue to strive for better representation across our company.
Collaborating to Advance Social and Racial Justice

Through AWS education programs, we announced a collaborative effort with Howard University to equip students with competitive technical skills, provide educators with professional development opportunities, and drive entrepreneurship at the university.

We’ve also launched statewide training and education initiatives, which are typically anchored by community colleges. Collaboration with community colleges helps AWS reach diverse populations of minority, underrepresented, and veteran populations, as well as urban and rural communities.

Our Progress
In 2021, we also announced the $10 million AWS Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Scholarship, designed to prepare underrepresented and underserved students globally for careers in machine learning.

spotlight
In 2021, we launched the Black Business Accelerator to target barriers to access and advancement, to drive economic equity for Black entrepreneurs, and to play a part in increasing the number of Black business owners in our industry.

Through our $150 million commitment, we will provide access to capital, business guidance, growth, and marketing support for current and aspiring Black small business owners selling in Amazon’s store to grow their businesses.

We’re proud to have created this initiative with our Black Employee Network affinity group and strategic partners, including the Minority Business Development Agency and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., which have deep experience in supporting Black businesses.
Amazon Literary Partnership

We’re committed to promoting people in our communities who come from historically underrepresented communities.

our progress
ALP awarded more than $1 million to organizations across the country that support writers and underrepresented voices

This includes our continued commitment to the Amazon Literary Partnership (ALP)—a grant program founded in 2009 that funds organizations championing diverse, marginalized, and underrepresented authors and storytellers.

In 2021, ALP awarded 80 grants totaling more than $1 million to organizations across the country that support writers and underrepresented voices.

Our work at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop centers the safeguarding and cultivation of our community’s imaginations, and we are incredibly grateful to the Amazon Literary Partnership for their continued support that makes this critically necessary work possible.
Jafreen Uddin
Executive Director, Asian American Writers’ Workshop
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