The New York Times had a fascinating story over the weekend about the toxic atmosphere that had developed at Nike, and what a group of women did about it.
An excerpt:
“There were the staff outings that started at restaurants and ended at strip clubs. A supervisor who bragged about the condoms he carried in his backpack. A boss who tried to forcibly kiss a female subordinate, and another who referenced a staff member’s breasts in an email to her.
“Then there were blunted career paths. Women were made to feel marginalized in meetings and were passed over for promotions. They were largely excluded from crucial divisions like basketball. When they complained to human resources, they said, they saw little or no evidence that bad behavior was being penalized.
“Finally, fed up, a group of women inside Nike’s Beaverton, Ore., headquarters started a small revolt.” They surveyed their female co-workers about their experiences, pulled together a report, and put it on the desk of CEO Mark Parker.
What happened next, the <>i>Times writes, was no less than “an upheaval in the executive ranks of the world’s largest sports footwear and apparel company.” People lost their jobs. Top people.
But, to be clear, this is not a story that has a satisfying ending … at least, not yet.
An excerpt:
“There were the staff outings that started at restaurants and ended at strip clubs. A supervisor who bragged about the condoms he carried in his backpack. A boss who tried to forcibly kiss a female subordinate, and another who referenced a staff member’s breasts in an email to her.
“Then there were blunted career paths. Women were made to feel marginalized in meetings and were passed over for promotions. They were largely excluded from crucial divisions like basketball. When they complained to human resources, they said, they saw little or no evidence that bad behavior was being penalized.
“Finally, fed up, a group of women inside Nike’s Beaverton, Ore., headquarters started a small revolt.” They surveyed their female co-workers about their experiences, pulled together a report, and put it on the desk of CEO Mark Parker.
What happened next, the <>i>Times writes, was no less than “an upheaval in the executive ranks of the world’s largest sports footwear and apparel company.” People lost their jobs. Top people.
But, to be clear, this is not a story that has a satisfying ending … at least, not yet.
- KC's View:
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Two suggestions.
First, read the story here.
Second, ask yourself what would happen in your company if a similar survey was done. And don’t kid yourself. Better yet, ask the woman leaders in your company to conduct a similar sort of survey, and get a no-holds-barred look at the kind of stuff that may be going on in your company. And then do something about it. Fast.
