Just curious... has anyone at any point ever mentioned you political view points even minor that go against the views of whereNike is playing nowadays? I have been conversing with a few peers whom were let go over the last 18 months. Most of which which were let go with stellar careers and backgrounds at Nike.
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Nike talks the diversity talk mostly in the traditional sense. Gender, Race etc. Important I agree. And easy to put on adds, commercials and monetize. When you shift to the less visible attributes things get nasty fast. Hard to market internal issues. Equal pay had to be dragged out. Religion and politics are off limit topics and career killers but they will send you the occasional PAC donation invite. Diversity of thought, nationality, experiences are not appreciated and over time will hurt your career.
Uptempo crawls with 3 Percenters, minitemen, and various of right wing militia groups. N-bombs and pro Trump talk is common there. If you want to be an open right winger or racist, Uptemo is the place for you. Don’t ever trust HR or ER if your are on the receiving end of it, you WILL be retaliated against.
Speaking of politics at Nike, INC. I had following experience. I was contracted there as a software engineer with higher degree and 10+ years of experience. My experience and knowledge were far greater than some of the fellow coworkers in my group. Early on, when I met my manager I was very open, chatty and exposed my personal legal status (of recent immigrant) as well as my national background. As it always is the case, ethnical backgrounds are easily revealing religious upbringing. I was born in Muslim family (and so are many other employees or athletes that Nike supports) but never did I talked about that. However, over the time, I exposed more information to my manager but never explicitly mentioning my religion. During one of our 1:1s he even asked me randomly for the name of my spouse. I was so surprised that I even asked him why he is asking, but he said just because I never brought it up. On one of the occasions, we were having lunch as a team, and the group started talking about the terrorist security somewhere in Europe. Immediately someone said that "they are all over the place". But then someone said "yeah, Muslims are taking over the Europe" and my manager affirmed it with "yeah, its unbelievable". I couldn't believe it, as they have just equalized all Muslims with terrorists. But then second later I was shocked. My manager asked me directly, "XYZ, why are you silent about this topic" and he put on the smart-a-- smile on his face. I was horrified, I knew he tagged me right there based on my ethnical and religious affiliation. It was a red flag.
Months later I found out that my manager is of Jewish origin, raised in Australia, worked in Israel and Canada before coming to USA. I am educated individual and geographically aware but I couldn't find out why my manager tagged me and why it mattered to him. In my further time spent there I learned that my manager worked in Israeli army and had strong anti-Arab political views based on the conflicts in Middle-East.
Neither am I of Arab origin, neither am I related to anything Middle-East. However, the only intersection was that I am a Muslim. So as the time was going by, I realized that this is a "thorn in the eye" for my manager. I tried to prove and improve myself with hard work and strong work ethics, but as time was going by, I saw I wasn't giving any attention and often was I ignored. My manager kept extending my contractor position, but never stepped ahead to offer me a Full Time Role or convert me to the Black Badge. I knew there is no chance for me, so I stepped away from Nike culture, and now I am at the place where they appreciate work and diversity much better.
This should be a message to all of you reading this, to not reveal your legal status, your national background or your religion or any personal information about your family to your managers. It is s---c-dal and I wish I had better luck with manager, otherwise I would start at different group.
"My experience is that if you were a conservative at Nike you never showed it"
Hmm, I think there's someone who's been quite open about his conservative views for years. Giving $ to Republican candidates. Honoring and supporting veterans in various ways. Huh, can't put my finger on his name.
The Company has been a pleasant one to work for as I feel they’ve stayed out of the Politcal ring...that is up until the past week. As of last week I feel I can no longer say that, especially when it’s brought right to the workplace and there’s no avoiding it. What’s already been commented is correct, you keep your mouth shut. I’m just hoping this isn’t the direction that Nike is taking in the future with their advertising.
In my group, where I've been for 7 years, you NEVER discuss or even hint at politics unless you are very very senior. And even then, the only allowable politics are the so-called "progressive" type. It's career s---c-de otherwise -- and it's been this way well before the whole #metoo thing.
Nike had an opportunity to try and amend a wrong with the 30th "Just Do IT" campaign. However, given the environment they've promoted over the years the still choose to have an add that says "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything."
Does that mean they believe in the culture of s*xism? or are they encouraging every person who was wronged at Nike to sacrifice to right that wrong?
My experience is that if you were a conservative at Nike you never showed it, but then again most conservatives aren't as vocal as liberals.
Nike should have looked at another face to support their 30 year Just Do It campaign. With all the things currently happening internally they would have proven more by showcasing the greatness of Serena who is about to make history once again. It would have shown that women can be just as great if not better.
My experience is that if you were a conservative at Nike you never showed it, but then again most conversations aren't as vocal as liberals.
Nike should have looked at another face to support their 30 year Just Do It campaign. With all the things currently happening internally they would have proven more by showcasing the greatness of Serena who is about to make history once again. It would have shown that women can be just as great if not better.