Amazon cuts mentions of DEI and LGBTQ rights from public policies

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/01/10/amazon-removes-black-trans-rights/

Another large company has fallen to right wing pressure and the fear of being on tRump’s bad side.  This right wing media pressure campaign we had better find a way to stop and combat.  Hugs.  

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A commitment to helping Black people live “free from fear,” and all occurrences of the term “transgender” disappeared from a page listing the online retailer’s policies late last month.

 
An Amazon logo hangs on a wall at Amazon’s HQ2 in Crystal City, Virginia in 2023. (Eric Lee for the Washington Post)
 
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As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, Amazon has cut commitments to protecting the rights of Black and LGBTQ+ people from a public listing of its corporate policies.

Statements that said Amazon supported the rights of transgender people and would protect the safety of Black employees and customers disappeared from a webpage stating the company’s positions late in December, archived versions show.

Sections titled “Equity for Black people” and “LGBTQ+ rights” were removed from the page, along with all mentions of the term transgender. The “Diversity, equity, and inclusion” section was updated to say that “inequitable treatment of anyone — including Black people, LGBTQ+ people, Asians, women, and others — is unacceptable.”
 

The changes come as other corporations have also adjusted their policies in ways apparently calculated to fit the change of political weather in Washington.

 

McDonald’s this month scaled back its diversity goals and Meta confirmed Friday that it would dismantle its employee diversity and equity, or DEI, programs. A growing number of Fortune 500 companies have abandoned or reduced DEI initiatives in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action in college admissions in 2023.

Some Amazon employees who noticed the changes to its policy page this week were dismayed by the apparent changes in the company’s positions, screenshots of internal conversations seen by The Washington Post showed. The Information earlier reported the changes.
 

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in an email statement, “We update this page from time to time to ensure that it reflects updates we’ve made to various programs and positions.” The company also pointed to an internal memo from December in which vice president Candi Castleberry said it was rolling back some DEI initiatives. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.

 

Before late December, Amazon’s webpage listing its policy positions said the company stood “in solidarity” with Black employees and customers, and supported “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.”

The paragraph containing those statements is no longer on the webpage.

 

Amazon also previously said on that page it was “working at the U.S. federal and state level on legislation” on protections for transgender people. It said that the company provided “gender transition benefits based on the Standards of Care published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).” The section with those claims has also been deleted.

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Published by Scotties Playtime

I am an older gay guy in a long-term wonderful relationship. My spouse and I are in our 36th year together. I love politics and news. I enjoy civil discussions and have no taboo subjects. My pronouns are he / him / his and my email is Scottiestoybox@gmail.com

2 thoughts on “Amazon cuts mentions of DEI and LGBTQ rights from public policies”

  1. Just so that people won’t totally despair of getting jobs, removal of the policies doesn’t remove the practice. Many companies did non-discrimination practices before putting into place DEI policies; those are for publicity, mainly. It’s a poor statement to make, and I don’t see how it will do companies really any good to make the statement, but there it is.

    Now maybe the same companies will begin discriminating in hiring, and then they will be sued, because it’s still against the law. Some of these companies vocally and visibly removing their policies are younger than anti-discrimination laws, so they’ve never operated under a system where hiring only white men and hiring women for a third or a quarter of what they pay men was legal.

    Again, removing the policies is a poor statement to make, and we should choose who gets our money.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hi Ali. Everything you wrote is true. But these statements do have a large effect. Employees can look to them and ask management to stand up for them, or if aggrieved can demand regress pointing to them. Plus it gives a positive affirmation to the public at large that the company thinks these are things worth putting in writing and making goals of. But more it gives future employees a reason to join that company.

      I understand why they are doing it. Fear of bad press even though it is manufactured made up of social media driven attacks on the company, and for companies like Amazon Bezos has many government contracts and wants more. It is all money for him. He needs to please the orange emperor. Hugs

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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