AWS Inclusion, Diversity & Equity
Leading inclusively to drive retention, growth, and innovation.
Tips and resources for leaders on inclusive leadership.
AWS Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity / Inclusive Leadership
The business impact of inclusive leadership
In this video series, we collect tips on building a culture of inclusion from Matt Easton, a seven-year Amazonian and Sales Leader for the U.S. Central Digital Native Businesses team at AWS. Through conversations between him and members of his team, we learn how leaders can “walk the talk” of inclusive leadership.
Matt Easton, an AWS Sales Leader, talks about how inclusion, or lack thereof, has played a major role in the Great Resignation. He also explains importance of inclusive practices starting from the C-Suite throughout the rest of the workforce.
Inclusion drives talent retention
In a 2020 McKinsey study, 39% of participants reported passing on a job because of a perceived lack of inclusion at that organization. While many of these workers factor in an organization’s inclusiveness when making career decisions, half of them report not feeling very included at work. Regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity, most say they’ve experienced “barriers to a sense of inclusion.”
Matt and Andrea Nohren, an AWS Account Manager, discuss leading with empathy as well as dominant work culture's pressure on women in the workplace.
Alak Eswaradass, an AWS Senior Solutions Architect, recounts moments in her career when she felt excluded at work and how such experiences can affect people from non-majority cultures.
Matt and Alak discuss how leaders at all levels, including the C-Suite, can build processes that ensure that all employees feel included and valued by their teams and management.
Matt and Andrea discuss how C-Suite leaders can create an inclusive culture by encouraging managers to trust their direct reports will get work done, even if it’s outside traditional work hours.
Inclusion powers innovation & growth
Deloitte research from 2018 shows that organizations with inclusive cultures are six times more innovative and agile, eight times more likely to achieve better business results, three times as likely to be high-performing, and twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets than organizations with less diversity in the workplace.
Matt and Aisha Khurshid, an AWS Senior Solutions Architect Manager, discuss how inclusion benefits the team as a whole by encouraging people to bring their personal experiences to create a better product or service.
Matt and Aisha discuss why expecting employees from other cultural backgrounds to assimilate is a leadership mistake. Aisha also shares an important lesson she learned about the importance of amplifying non-dominant voices.