For all the current OUP employees reading this—the mistreatment and toxicity isn’t okay, and it isn’t your fault. - Editorial Assistant Oxford University Press Employee Review

Thank you for getting in touch. As you can imagine, some of the issues you raised here are a real cause for concern and I’d like to address a few of them directly. 1. Firstly, on your comments about salary and reward, the entry-level salary figure you cite is no longer accurate, following earlier adjustments to increase assistant salaries well above that level. Furthermore, we remain actively focused on entry-level salaries and are working to take additional actions, even within the context of the current challenges posed by the pandemic. 2. Secondly, you raised some points around imperialism and racism, particularly in relation to our history. As is the case for many organizations at the moment, this is a topic that has been widely discussed at OUP over the last few months. Presently, in the US, we have carried out a series of listening sessions with our BIPOC employee base and, across our offices worldwide, we are in the process of carrying out similar exercises. Through these, we hope to identify tangible and immediate steps to support diversity and inclusion, and workplace culture, across OUP. We also continue to implement more inclusive recruitment practices and run global inclusion workshops to tackle unconscious bias. As a core value, we do not tolerate racism, prejudice, or harassment in any form, and are committed to anti-racist principles. 3. Finally, I was really concerned to read your reference to violations of employment law and HR compliance. Unpaid overtime is not expected and, in fact, we frequently emphasize—at briefings, in communications—that everyone who works OT should be paid for it. If you would be willing, I would encourage you to reach out to us directly (glassdoor@oup.com) or to our Speak UP hotline (https://wrs.expolink.co.uk/speakupoup) to tell us more about the specifics of this so that we can do something about any such instances. I really hope you will consider getting in touch. Best wishes, David Clark Managing Director, Academic Division