Racist company - Software Developer Absorb Software Employee Review

Response from Mike Owens, CEO: Absorb has zero tolerance for racist behaviour. Full stop. The executive leadership team and I take this very seriously, and we have multiple means of handling these matters including a long standing 100% anonymous feedback line and a well utilized open door policy. With all the internal support mechanisms we have in place, I’m troubled reading this review and hearing that a member of our team feels this way. I continue to reinforce my commitment to foster a safe and inclusive workplace and have made concerted efforts to ensure that there are opportunities for open discussions. As a current employee, I welcome further discussions with you on this, my door is open to you and I invite you to have a confidential conversation with me. I have also raised your very serious concerns with our Inclusion Committee, whose co-chairs also invite you to have a confidential conversation should you feel more comfortable speaking with them. The Inclusion Committee has been empowered to be an active component of an investigation into any such allegations. As an existing employee you would have seen the numerous education opportunities the Inclusion Committee has brought forwards already this year including a very active Black History Month slate of activities with noted speakers, a round table forum, and an initiative to support local black owned businesses during what has been a difficult year for many small businesses. We have, and continue to review our policies alongside our Inclusion Committee, we’ve added mandatory diversity training for new hires, incorporated unconscious bias training in our hiring and interview training, as well as in our performance management training. We remain committed to work alongside our Inclusion Committee to assess our policies and practices to improve our culture and be an inclusive employer of choice. I encourage all staff who have concerns to bring them forward to myself, human resources, or the inclusion committee to create a collaborative solution at Absorb and build a better culture. On behalf of the Inclusion Committee: The CEO is committed to fostering a zero-tolerance organization towards racism and racist behaviors. The inclusion committee understands that there are implicit biases that need to be addressed. However this is not possible without employees who are sensing this type of behavior reaching out to members of the inclusion committee or the anonymous feedback line. We encourage you to support our efforts in identifying and correcting this type of behavior by reaching out. We also understand that highlighting implicit bias is difficult, however we will work with you in confidence to bring your concerns to the CEO personally. As a committee member, we understand how painful and hurtful implicit and overt biases are. We have taken this role because we do believe that the organization is committed to a fair and respectful workplace. By bringing up any incidents to the CEO and HR would help them understand what minority employees experience in the workplace and therefore be able to bring positive change through concrete actions.