Whereas:  Amazon is under public scrutiny for alleged unfair pay and working conditions. On Black Friday, workers went on a mass strike demanding fair wages. The campaign Make Amazon Pay states, “Amazon squeezes workers,” alleging real wages decreased while Amazon achieved record revenue in the second quarter of 2022.[1]

Pay inequities pose substantial risks to companies and society, as they persist across race and gender. Black workers’ hourly median earnings represent 64 percent of white wages. The median income for women working full time is 83 percent that of men. Intersecting race, Black women earn 63 percent, Native women 60 percent, and Latina women 55 percent.  At the current rate, women will not reach pay equity until 2059, Black women in 2130, and Latina women in 2224. Citigroup estimates closing minority and gender wage gaps 20 years ago could have generated 12 trillion dollars in additional national income.[2]

Actively managing pay equity is associated with improved representation. Diversity in leadership is linked to superior stock performance and return on equity.[3] Minorities represent 70 percent of Amazon’s workforce and 34 percent of leadership. Women represent 45 percent of the workforce and 23 percent of leadership.[4]

Best practice pay equity reporting consists of two parts:

1. unadjusted median pay gaps, assessing equal opportunity to high paying roles,
2. statistically adjusted gaps, assessing whether minorities and non-minorities, men and women, are paid the same for similar roles.       

Amazon reports statistically adjusted gaps but ignores unadjusted gaps, which address structural bias women and minorities face regarding job opportunity and pay, particularly when men hold most higher paying jobs. While Amazon reports diversity data, median pay gaps show, quite literally, how Amazon assigns value to employees through the roles they inhabit and pay they receive. Median gap reporting also provides a digestible and comparable data point to determine progress over time.

Racial and gender median pay gaps are accepted as the valid way of measuring pay inequity by the United States Census Bureau, Department of Labor, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and International Labor Organization. The United Kingdom and Ireland mandate disclosure of median gender pay gaps.

Resolved:  Shareholders request Amazon report on median pay gaps across race and gender, including associated policy, reputational, competitive, and operational risks, and risks related to recruiting and retaining diverse talent. The report should be prepared at reasonable cost, omitting proprietary information, litigation strategy and legal compliance information.

Racial/gender pay gaps are defined as the difference between non-minority and minority/male and female median earnings expressed as a percentage of non-minority/male earnings (Wikipedia/OECD, respectively).

Supporting Statement: An annual report adequate for investors to assess performance could, with board discretion, integrate base, bonus and equity compensation to calculate:

• percentage median gender pay gap, globally and/or by country, where appropriate
• percentage median racial/minority/ethnicity pay gap, US and/or by country, where appropriate

[1] https://makeamazonpay.com/map/

[2]https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bc65db67d0c9102cca54b74/t/636c01a29dd3d63e30153443/1668022691457/Racial+and+Gender+Pay+Scorecard+2022.pdf

[3] Ibid.

[4] https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/2021-sustainability-report.pdf