3 Amazonians share how to cultivate a culture of inclusion

For me, diversity means having different voices within a team, equity means listening to each voice, and inclusion means making everyone feel heard and valued. While there are many reasons why these ideas matter, I can think of two that most resonate with me. First, I think people are most energized when they feel included and valued. For me personally, I feel energized from working on a team that appreciates the unique perspective I bring to the team. I think everyone should be able to feel like that. Second, fostering different opinions and voices is important to get to good business outcomes. We build better products for our customers when we account for different points of view.

One of the reasons I joined my team is because leadership promotes inclusion. I see this in big ways, like leaders' commitment to attracting diverse talent, and less obvious ones, like when senior leaders stop a meeting to ensure a more junior team member has a chance to contribute to the conversation. I really love how our leaders seek opinions from team members from different functions, backgrounds, and levels of seniority.

For me, the holidays often mean an opportunity to spend time with family and friends. I have a toddler and a baby at home. On holidays, we like to cook together: we make cookies, bake challah, or make latkes. It’s a great time to slow down and be with each other.

To me, diversity is when we have many different insights and perspectives on one thing because of the people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. I strongly believe diversity makes teams stronger and helps us better support our diverse customers. Equity to me means we are recognized equally. And inclusion is to be mindful about the individuals’ situations and backgrounds, and making sure different opinions are heard.

Our team creates an inclusive culture in many ways. For example, we sometimes have someone’s kids come on guests during our virtual team meetings. We wave and say hello, acknowledging that being a parent and working remotely is challenging and it’s important to lean on your teammates.

Holidays mean family gatherings to me. During the pandemic, it’s unfortunate we can’t celebrate together, across borders. My favorite tradition is the New Year. In the morning of the first three days of a year, my family gathers and eats traditional dishes called “Osechi.” Each dish has a meaning, for example “Kurikinton” is candied chestnut with sweet potatoes, and the color becomes gold-ish when you stir it with syrup, so we believe eating it will bring the good luck. Another dish, called “Nishime,” is boiled root vegetables in dashi soup. Those vegetables root in the soil, so it has a meaning of “long-lasting happiness.” After eating “Osechi,” we visit a shrine and spend time watching holiday programs or playing traditional board games.