As a shareholder in Amazon through the Praxis Growth Index Fund, Praxis Mutual Funds® joined lead-filer New York State Common Retirement Fund and others to file a shareholder resolution on racial equity at Amazon.
The proposal calls for a racial equity audit analyzing Amazon’s impacts on civil rights, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and the impacts of those issues on Amazon’s business.
Amazon has made a public commitment to addressing systemic racism. Some of its actions, however, have been seen by employees and civil rights groups as inconsistent with that pledge. Among them:
- A high-profile lawsuit alleging discrimination against Black and Latino workers, who make up a disproportionate percentage of the company’s warehouse labor.
- Allegations of biased promotion practices and discriminatory employee surveillance.
- Fulfillment and distribution facilities, and their impact on local air quality, located primarily in nonwhite neighborhoods.
- Inconsistent implementation of policies prohibiting the sale of products on Amazon’s platform that promote hatred.
Amazon has challenged the proposal at the Securities and Exchange Commission, with the goal of preventing it from appearing on the company’s ballot. Praxis hopes the proposal outlasts the challenge and eventually leads to productive dialogue with Amazon.