USA – Ecommerce giant, Amazon has appointed Indra Nooyi, former PepsiCo Inc. Chief Executive Officer to company Board of Directors, making her the fifth woman on Amazon’s eleven-member board.

She is also the second woman appointed to the panel this month after the company named Starbucks Corp’s Chief Operating Officer Rosalind Brewer as a director, the second black woman to serve on its board.

She will also join Amazon’s audit committee which overseas financial statements and financial reporting process and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Other women on the board include Jamie Gorelick, Judith McGrath and Patricia Stonesifer.

Indra Nooyi, 63, stepped down as PepsiCo CEO in October after 24 years at the company that were characterized by high net revenue turnover as well as brand growth.

According to Reuters, Nooyi has been granted 549 shares of common stock of the company, which will vest in three equal annual instalments beginning on May 15, 2020.

As part of a new policy to increase diversity on its board, the company last year said women and minorities are to be among its board nominees.

The new policy, initially opposed by company board, was enacted after criticism over the male-dominated board.

Other Silicon Valley companies are also grappling with how to enhance workforce diversity in an industry dominated by men and white people.

Reports by Google, Facebook, Microsoft and other tech companies highlight the gap in job diversity, highlighting low percentages of women and minority employees, with few moving up the management chain.

“In the rapidly changing business landscape, harnessing the power of diversity and inclusion is essential for the very viability and sustainability of every organization.

Talent who feel fully welcomed, valued, respected, and heard by their colleagues and their organizations will fuel this growth.

We will only succeed in this transformation if those in leadership pivot from command and control management styles to reinvent how we look at people, every organization’s greatest asset.

Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace & the Will to Change stands up and embraces what true diversity and inclusion represent to any organization in any industry- an opportunity,” reads a statement on Amazon website.