Reverend Jesse Jackson is busy these days, blasting Amazon.com this week for failing to release its work force diversity data.
Amazon, based in Seattle, is the only hold out among the technology giants in the US to not release this data. Google, Facebook and Twitter, as well as other big tech companies, have released gender and racial breakdown data in the last few months.
These reports show what many people have long believed, which is that the tech industry is mostly male, white and Asian.
Jackson told the media this week that he called CEO Jeff Bezos this week to ask him once again to release the data.
Jackson first requested that the company release diversity statistics in a letter he sent to Bazos in the spring. He stated in the letter that he urged the CEO to publicly disclose the racial and gender make up of Amazon’s work force as soon as possible.
Jackson’s organization, the Rainbow Push Coalition, will respond with some type of action if the company refuses to release the information.
Jackson stated by next week, he wants ‘justice and equality to go viral.’
USA Today has requested several times that Amazon release the diversity data, but the firm still has not responded to these requests.
Jackson alleges that underrepresented groups have been left out of the technology revolution. Blacks are 2% of the work force of large tech companies, and Hispanics 4%.
Jackson stated that Amazon has a responsibility to ensure that its employees reflect the diversity of its consumers.
Amazon usually ignores these sorts of requests, and waits for the issue to blow over. It also will not release the number of workers it has in Seattle.
Microsoft revealed recently that its workforce is 72% men and 28% women, which is more diverse than a year ago. At Google (which is taking its drone testing program abroad), only 2% of its workforce is black and 3% is Hispanic. Facebook, which is working on improving the image of events in its ads, also reported that its workers are 2% black and 3% Hispanic.