A lawsuit filed in US federal court on Monday accused Amazon of keeping women and black employees down while publicly talking up the need for diversity and social justice.

Charlotte Newman, who is black and heads Underrepresented Founder Startup Business Development at Amazon Web Services, said in the suit she has been harassed, sexually assaulted, and kept from advancing to positions she deserved in the corporation.

An independent contractor picks up an Amazon.com Inc. Prime grocery bag outside a Whole Foods Market Inc. store in Washington DC, the US, on March 31, 2020. Photo: VCG

"Like so many other black and female employees at Amazon, Charlotte Newman was confronted with a systemic pattern of insurmountable discrimination based upon the color of her skin and her gender," attorneys argued in the lawsuit.

Newman is asking for her case to be heard by a jury, and to be awarded unspecified cash damages.

"Amazon works hard to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture, and these allegations do not reflect those efforts or our values," an Amazon spokeswoman said in reply to an AFP inquiry.

"We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind and thoroughly investigate all claims and take appropriate action." Amazon is digging into allegations made in the lawsuit, the spokeswoman added.

Newman said she was hired as a public policy manager at Amazon four years ago, quickly doing work typically assigned to higher level employees and paid less than white coworkers.

In June 2020 she filed a written complaint about harassment by a male executive.