Susi Collins
Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (ID&E) Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Susi Collins is an Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (ID&E) Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS) where she leads the culture transformation for the Global & Strategic Accounts team. Prior to joining AWS, Susi held roles in ID&E with Nordstrom and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she managed the employee resource group program among other equity and belonging initiatives. Susi's work is grounded in centering the experiences of historically underrepresented communities and those with intersectional identities to achieve equity.
Susi received a Master of Nonprofit Administration from University of San Francisco and a certificate from Cornell University in Diversity & Inclusion. She has completed fellowships with the Aspen Institute Latino Society Program, Hispanics in Philanthropy, and the Salzburg Global Seminar, and is a founding member and co-chair of the Seattle-based DEI Community of Practice. She is originally from Lima, Peru and lives in Seattle with her multicultural family.
Takes part in
An Intersectional Approach to Addressing All Inequalities in one DEI Strategy
The term intersectionality is becoming more common in discussions of DEI. Still, many employers aren’t sure what it means—or why it matters in their workplace.
Many HR and diversity professionals tend to focus on one type of discrimination at a time. But humans themselves aren’t one-dimensional. For instance, Black women earn substantially less on average than their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts for doing the same jobs. And the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is more than twice the rate for people without disabilities. For a worker who is a Black woman with a disability, these two issues are compounded.
If corporate inclusion efforts don’t prioritize intersectionality, they risk being counterproductive—and can potentially even be harmful.
So how to build an intersectional DEI strategy with true belonging, empathy and inclusion in a company?
Our speakers will examine the following topics in this panel:
- How to boost awareness of intersectionality among DEI and HR officers across the company
- How a holistic approach can provide greater support for all employees
- The power of Allyship programs in fostering a culture of belonging
Cornell Verdeja-Woodson
Mx. Pips Bunce
Lydia Smith
Susi Collins