Amazon data showed big jump in diversity among senior leaders — after definition of ‘executive’ was loosened

In 2016, Amazon didn’t employ a single Black, Native American or multiracial executive and just one Hispanic or Latino executive among its 105 senior leaders in the United States, 78 of whom were white men.

One year later, it was a different picture. In federal government reporting, Amazon said it employed 22 Black executives, 51 Hispanic and Latino executives, 22 multiracial executives and 380 female executives, out of a total of 1,767 executives .

Amid a hiring spree that boosted Amazon’s total employee head count by 71% , the company in 2017 loosened its definition of executive to include every employee at the vice president and director level, which Amazon had formerly reported as midlevel managers. The change expanded Amazon’s executive ranks by 1,600% in one year.

Those figures are pulled from reports Amazon submitted to the Department of Labor’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) between 2014 and 2018, obtained through a public records request by Reveal for The Center for Investigative Reporting and shared with The Seattle Times. The EEOC uses company reporting to compile industrywide statistics, audit companies’ employment practices and enforce anti-discrimination statutes.

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