Chanin Kelly-Rae facts for kids

Chanin Kelly-Rae (born in 1970) is an American expert in diversity and inclusion. This means she helps make workplaces fair and welcoming for everyone. She started her own company, Chanin Kelly-Rae Consulting, which focuses on managing diversity.

She worked for a short time as the global director of diversity at Amazon, specifically in their Amazon Web Services part. She later left her job to speak out about what she believed were "deep, systemic issues." These issues, she said, made it harder for people from underrepresented groups, especially Black employees, to succeed at the company.

Early Life and Education

Chanin Kelly-Rae grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She went to Rufus King International High School there. Her father, Gus Kelly, was a chef. She lived with her parents and five brothers and sisters.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She studied English and cultural studies. Later, she received a special certificate in diversity management from Cornell University.

Career and Speaking Out

Kelly-Rae began her career as a teacher. She taught middle school and high school students in Milwaukee.

After teaching, she worked in different roles focused on fairness and inclusion. She was a senior director for a group called the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association. She also managed diversity for Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. Later, she became the statewide diversity manager for Washington State.

Working at Amazon

In 2019, Kelly-Rae joined Amazon as the global director of diversity for Amazon Web Services. In February 2021, she shared her reasons for leaving Amazon. She had worked there for about 10 months. Her story was part of a Recode investigation. This investigation looked into how Amazon rated its Black employees. It found that they were often rated more harshly than white employees. This meant they were promoted less often.

Kelly-Rae said that Amazon had a culture where people were afraid to speak up about problems. She was the first employee to publicly share her experience. Since then, she has helped others, like Charlotte Newman, to speak out. Newman later filed a lawsuit against Amazon. Kelly-Rae also felt that Amazon's public support for Black Lives Matter did not match its internal company culture.

Concerns About Fairness

Kelly-Rae also noticed a pattern where women applying for jobs were offered lower-level positions. This happened even if they were qualified for higher roles. She said this happened to her too. She also mentioned that her budget for diversity work was very small. Her colleagues told her it was less than what they spent on company merchandise.

She believed that Amazon was not serious about creating a diverse workforce. She said that the company's diversity data was misleading. Amazon reported that 26% of its workers were Black. However, Kelly-Rae said most Black workers were in warehouses. She rarely saw Black employees in Amazon's Seattle headquarters, except for those who opened doors or cleaned. She explained on Fox News that companies often use numbers to downplay employee concerns. She said that even a small percentage of employees speaking out can represent many more who are affected.

Amazon has stated that they "work hard to make Amazon a company where our Black employees and people of all backgrounds feel included, respected, and want to grow their careers." They also said they "do not tolerate discrimination or harassment in any form." Amazon also mentioned that offering lower-level positions is a common practice for all employees, not just certain groups.

After leaving Amazon in September 2020, Kelly-Rae started her own company. Chanin Kelly-Rae Consulting helps other businesses manage diversity.

Personal Life

Kelly-Rae moved to Seattle to avoid some of the challenges related to race she experienced in Milwaukee. In 2004, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper named her "coach of the year" for boys' tennis. This was after her third year coaching tennis at Lakeside School.

As of February 2019, Chanin Kelly-Rae lives in Everett, Washington. She lives there with her husband, Richard Rae, and their two children.

See also

• Ifeoma Ozoma
• Sophie Zhang
• Frances Haugen
• Chelsey Glasson