Everyone has a role to play in enabling sustainability and diversity: Amazon MENA exec

In 2017, Amazon has completed its acquisition of Middle East-born e-commerce firm Souq.com in a landmark acquisition worth $580 million.

Since then, the company has grown leaps and bounds in the region, introducing new unique services and pioneering innovations.

Among the leaders that paved the way to the success of the e-commerce brand here in the region is Jinyi Liu, the Head of Strategic Projects at the company. In her role, Liu leads the company’s tech innovation in order fulfilment and supply chain in MENA.

With a background in engineering, Liu started her career 14 years ago at PepsiCo. “At the time, I was the only female leader in most meetings with either our internal teams or external vendors.”

But Liu highlighted that the landscape had evolved over the years, and when she joined Amazon she found that more and more women were in pure technology roles whether they be software developers, engineers and so on. “There’s a lot more women across our entire business now from our fulfilment centres to our last-mile operations. We have women in all roles from associates all the way to managers,” she said.

At the head of strategic projects for Amazon MENA, Liu’s role encompasses two quite well-dominated industries – technology and logistics. However, she reiterated that as a leader, she is committed to taking steps that will empower women to thrive in both of these sectors.

“At Amazon, we truly value diversity as we believe that it enables us to better serve not only our customers but also our employees.

“For my part, I am and will continue to champion diversity and inclusivity across Amazon’s operations. I am very proud to be supporting the next generation of women leaders within the company through our mentoring programmes. As a member of the Amazon Committee, I also lead initiatives to improve the experiences and capabilities of female employees across the Amazon global network.

“Furthermore, our pledge to become the ‘Earth’s Best Employer’ has reinforced our commitment to creating the best working environment for women and, of course, for other leaders as well.”

Tech: Enabling a sustainable future

With the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day focused on sustainability, Liu shed light on the importance of climate change awareness and the unique and powerful role that women can play in prompting action.

“Global studies have shown that women play a very key role in the management, conservation and proper utilisation of natural resources. Women offer unique perspectives as educators and caregivers as it is definitely engraved ingrained in our day-to-day value system.

“Personally, being a mother of a five-year-old girl makes me even more aware of the importance of sustainability. Because when I look at her, I cannot help but think about the future and how I can make it a better world for her and for other generations to come,” she explained.

Technology companies such as Amazon also plays a huge role in driving conversations and actions focused on sustainability. According to Liu, Amazon does its part through its climate pledge for net-zero, which it aims to achieve by 2040.

How women can lead the charge in the fight against climate change

“As a young company in the region, we believe that it’s our duty to act responsibly from day one. Therefore, we launched our MENA Sustainability Roadmap last year, which will pave the way for us to achieve our climate pledge. It demonstrates how we align with the national priorities in the countries in the region in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as we pursue solutions to minimise our carbon footprints across our operations. Some of these initiatives bring immediate carbon savings, while others have long-term payoffs.

“We’re working very hard to embed our carbon reduction strategy into every stage of our operations from the time an item is picked off the shelf until it reaches our fulfilment centres and our warehouses, and then eventually our customers. There are three pillars that we focus on: energy efficient infrastructures using solar power, transforming our transportation network and redesigning the packaging to reduce waste.”

Driving change as a woman in tech

Liu believes that everyone, from governments to businesses and individuals, has a role to play in enabling sustainability and diversity.

“Progress affects people differently. Being conscious of these differences and being empathetic to every impact group is essential to creating effective policies to drive a sustainable and equal future.

“For individuals, having a long-term vision for your actions is key to contributing to a sustainable tomorrow. For example, I always ask myself how my actions can add value to future generations and how I can be a role model to my daughter. As for organisations, creating a level playing field for people of all types of backgrounds and encouraging women to join and stay in the workforce is very critical to achieving a just and equitable future.”

On International Women’s Day, Liu shared some advice to young women who are aspiring to be future leaders. “There’s no better time than now to pursue your dreams. The support for women in the technology and logistics fields are at an all-time high.

“Additionally, remember to continue to improve yourself and seize every opportunity to make your voices heard. Focus hard on what you want to achieve and be true to yourself.”