JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — Women of color in the workforce are both underrepresented and less likely to be promoted compared to other races, according to the 2022 Women in the Workplace survey. Those circumstances make career advancement challenging.
For three years, Kansas native Jennifer Smith has used her skills to help hire and empower women at Amazon in Jeffersonville, Indiana. She’s also been on the front lines of creating Amazon’s affinity group, Black Employee Network (BEN) chapter for the region, which acts as a resource group to enhance diverse opportunities in the workplace.
Until March 2020, she was the vice president of sales for a tuxedo company, but that came to a halt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after, she landed a job working with Amazon in Jeffersonville, working her way up to a senior operations manager in just 3 years.
Smith starts off each day tag teaming responsibilities to assign like cleaning, stocking, stowing and packing for hundreds of employees. “I know we [cleaned] the dock this morning so I know that looks good,” Smith said.
A year and a half ago she took on a new journey with Amazon, heading the BEN chapter for the region, which includes Louisville, Southern Indiana, Lexington and three other warehouse locations. It caters to minorities like her, creating a resource group, recruiting and career growing opportunities.
“Before we got into 2023, it was super important that I worked with the POCs of this group to discuss what is it that we want to accomplish in 2023. Which is extremely important because I want to be able to bring others with me,” she said. “It’s fun being a senior here. But it’s also fun being able to have that conversation with someone who just started.”
The 2016 University of Louisville graduate credits her undergraduate degree in women’s studies and her master’s from Baker University for her strong leadership abilities. For every 100 men of all races who are promoted from entry level to manager, only 87 women are promoted, and only 82 women of color are promoted. That’s all according to the 2022 Women in the Workplace Survey.
And with every keystroke on her computer, Smith thinks about how much it means to have the senior operations manager title next to her name.
“If I’m having a bad day, I have to remember that somebody else wishes they could be here, so how can I make sure that my actions and what I say show that? We want to continue to move forward, continue to grow the African-American community, so what role do you want to play in that?” said Smith.
Smith knows that’s crucial because her role means continuing to make room for underrepresented voices. The BEN engages with communities of color through partnering with local chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers and recruiting initiatives with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.