Amazon cuts mentions of DEI and LGBTQ rights from public policies

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 US 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.

The disappearance of the reference to paid health benefits for transgender employees caused consternation among some advocates on staff according to screenshots of conversations seen by The Washington Post.

“I’m a bit worried … if that will impact insurance coverage in the future,” wrote one employee. Another said the change was “a bit of a backward step” from Amazon’s previously more supportive position. The company said the benefit is still available.

Amazon has also made changes to a part of its website providing information about working at the company.

A page previously titled “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” is now headed “Inclusive Experiences and Technology.” The company’s promise to “advance DEI through technology” has been replaced with a vow to “advance the employee experience.”

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