Amazon is proud of its culture of inclusion. Have you ever experienced or witnessed a lack of inclusion in the workplace? If so, how did you address the situation?
On Amazon's career website, the company states, 'Amazon's ability to innovate on behalf of our customers relies on the perspectives and knowledge of people from all backgrounds. We believe that building a culture that is welcoming and inclusive is integral to people doing their best work and is essential to what we can achieve as a company. We actively recruit people from diverse backgrounds to build a supportive and inclusive workplace. We take steps to ensure employees have a sense of belonging, value, and opportunity.'
Inclusion is different from diversity, and it's essential to be prepared to make the distinction. Diversity refers to 'what' the company is doing to create a diverse workplace, and inclusion is 'how' the company is developing a safe culture. The interviewer wants you to recount a time when you experienced firsthand or witnessed a lack of inclusion in the workplace. This question is not the opportunity to speak poorly of an employer or co-worker but instead spotlight how you address a workplace imbalance.
When responding to a question like this, it's best to give a specific story-based example rather than responding with a generalization. You can form your response using the STAR framework, an acronym for Situation, Task, Action, Result. This framework will allow you to keep your reply well-organized so that the interviewer can follow along with your story.
If you have not experienced this situation in the past, you can speak hypothetically, being sure to address how you would handle the issue and how you plan to support your co-workers in achieving equality in the workplace.
"(Situation) I worked for a company many years ago that did not have proper inclusion efforts for employees with physical disabilities. There was very little assistive technology, and accessibility was not a priority. (Task) As the Product Manager, it was up to me to spotlight these shortcomings and stand up for my talented team members. (Action) I brought my concerns to the Senior Product Manager in the form of a few critical points, and I provided a list of helpful resources. I explained that many companies are relatively aware that diversity is important, but this does not mean much without inclusion efforts as a follow-through. I spent time explaining the differences between diversity and inclusion. Together, we came up with a plan that would further support inclusion. (Result) In the end, our inclusion program expanded, and we made more effort toward creating a comfortable workplace for employees with physical disabilities. The company's head office was impressed with our plan, and they ended up deploying our ideas across all other locations."
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