A woman will now be Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ right hand in a highly sought after executive role that previously only men filled.
On Tuesday, Bezos named Maria Renz, a 15-year Amazon veteran and former CEO for Quidsi, the parent company for Diapers.com, as his technical adviser or “shadow.”
The position is akin to being second in command as Bezos’ advisers have significant influence in day-to-day and major company decisions, Recode reported. Renz will replace Kindle’s former vice president Jay Marine, who is going on to run the Europe-based Amazon Instant Video.
Renz’s hiring makes her the first female executive to directly report to Bezos. Previously, all 12 senior staff members were men and the most senior woman employee was Shelley Reynolds, Amazon’s top accounting officer and vice president. The company, like many tech giants, also suffers from a lack of gender diversity in the upper ranks, with only 15 percent of women holding senior management positions.
Tech companies in general have been more open about the need for more diverse staff beyond the white male stereotype. Workplace diversity, or a lack thereof, is more pronounced in higher positions.
Women only make up 11 percent of all executive positions in Silicon Valley companies, and often deal with hostile work environments, where sexual harassment and innuendo are rampant. Even in academia, women are less likely to become full-time faculty in science, technology, engineering, and math departments.
But there’s been a strong movement to change the status quo, as independent initiatives and companies such as Google work to close the representation gaps with initiatives that focus on getting young girls interested in the industry.