#27 “I’ve seen people link race and sex to performance outcomes, through gender and heteronormative slurs at each other and make crass fraternity-style humor…”

“At Amazon, I’ve noticed that some orgs allow discrimination to go unchecked. Maybe it’s because it’s a tech-centered company and tech already has a D&I issue so things go unnoticed. I’ve noticed several things that would be considered unacceptable elsewhere: in passing conversations, I’ve seen people link race and sex to performance outcomes, through gender and heteronormative slurs at each other and make crass fraternity-style humor about the role of women and sexual minorities in the work place (e.g. women are meant to the kitchen type of humor). The times I have tried to bring awareness to these problems to upper management, I’ve been ignored or swatted away. In my time at Amazon, I found that none of the leadership principles, which serve as the spine of company culture, apply to diversity and inclusion of talent. This structural weakness stops diversity and inclusion from becoming a real priority at Amazon. “