Lack of faith in human resources, intimidation, vulgarity and allegations of inappropriate touching were among the repeated complaints made by female Nike employees in a self-administered 2018 survey, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive’s review of responses.
In January, the news organization received a 154-page document from a lawyer for plaintiffs in an ongoing sex discrimination lawsuit. The document, the subject of an ongoing court battle, contains a collection of responses to the survey circulated among female Nike employees in 2018 — seemingly all of the responses turned over by the company during discovery in the lawsuit.
The survey, known as “Project Starfish,” set off a reckoning at the company after the firsthand accounts of female Nike employees experiencing sexual harassment and discrimination were turned over to executives.
Nike has sought in court to block The Oregonian/OregonLive’s reporting on the documents. The Oregonian/OregonLive briefly reported on the surveys two weeks ago after a ruling in the news organization’s favor, but halted reporting after the ruling was temporarily stayed following a Nike appeal. On April 13, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that reporting can continue while it considers the appeal.
An analysis of the surveys conducted last week shows several common complaints, with many alleging that high-ranking men took advantage of a corporate environment perceived not to hold them accountable. Women who filled out the survey claimed high-ranking male Nike employees used that cover to engage in everything from inappropriate language to soliciting sexual favors from lower-ranking female employees. The survey respondents also repeatedly expressed fear of retaliation if they reported the behavior.
Nike did not respond to emailed questions.
The allegations in the surveys — in many cases made anonymously and not independently verified by The Oregonian — broadly support claims made by plaintiffs in the ongoing sex discrimination lawsuit.
Many also are consistent with the account of Pam Parker, a former sister-in-law of former Nike CEO Mark Parker who worked at the company between 1989 and 2013. The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported this month on Pam Parker’s 2022 signed statement in which she said she was forcibly kissed by a manager in a hotel room around 1995 while traveling for work. She also claimed she witnessed prostitutes at work events during her time with the company, as well as deliberate attempts to protect top Nike executives from complaints.
The surveys, which include allegations that date from 1994 to 2018, were given to Mark Parker on March 5, 2018, according to the company. Parker, who now serves as Nike’s executive chairman, emailed employees that month and said he’d “become aware of reports” about behavior that did not live up to Nike’s standards. Two months later, he spoke at an all-staff meeting and promised a series of changes.
Nike has since said it turned the surveys over to an outside law firm that investigated the allegations and took action where needed. That investigation has not been made public. The company also has announced a series of changes to address the complaints, including changes in pay, human resources and hiring processes and tying executive compensation to diversity and inclusion metrics.
Of the roughly 30 surveys obtained by The Oregonian, more than a third include claims about a lack of trust in Nike’s human resources department.
“Who is going to go up against these guys?” one Nike employee wrote in an anonymous survey. “Why would we report something when our company has a systemic and repeated practice of not addressing appropriately?”
More than a third of survey respondents expressed fear of retaliation, bullying or intimidation, including one anonymous respondent who said she feared for her physical safety after she reported an unwelcome advance from a higher-up to human resources and got “inappropriate messages” on her work phone from a blocked number.
More than a third of survey respondents also alleged vulgar workplace communication, ranging from inappropriate text messages from higher-ups to being shown pornographic images at work. Four respondents claimed to have been called a misogynistic slur or to have heard the insult directed at another employee.
The surveys include eight claims of inappropriate touching at work, including three from an employee who claimed to have been “fondled” on three different occasions by two different men. Others alleged inappropriate contact that included shoulder rubs, unwanted kisses on the lips, butt “taps” and a manager pressing his clothed penis against an employee’s face.
“Both men were higher in the Nike hierarchy than me,” wrote the anonymous employee who claimed to have been fondled repeatedly.
The employee added she didn’t report the behavior.
“Who would I tell, anyway?” she wrote. “I have zero faith that it would not negatively affect my career.”
In addition to the claims of inappropriate touching, there are repeated claims about Nike executives getting “sexual favors” including from lower-ranking female employees, with one respondent listing 12 executives who allegedly engaged in the behavior and another listing six. Five of the names overlap. At least one appears to still work at Nike.
“Rarely does anything ever happen to the men,” wrote one of the respondents.
Several of the complaints contain claims about inappropriate behavior at Nike’s corporate gym and on work travel, including an allegation against an unnamed Nike vice president who talked about hiring sex workers on a business trip. The surveys also include a claim about women seemingly from “brothels ” at a Nike party, a suggestion that the women were paid sex workers.
“I look around and see my married coworkers dancing and openly grinding with these women,” claimed the person who wrote the anonymous complaint.
The documents include multiple claims about invitations to hotel rooms.
“I have been on business trips where I have witnessed male coworkers attempt to fraternize with other younger female employees,” an employee wrote in an anonymous complaint.
The Oregonian continues reporting on the claims. Meanwhile, Nike has asked the entire bench of the Ninth Circuit to reconsider the April 13 ruling.
Matthew Kish covers business, including the sportswear and banking industries. Reach him at 503-221-4386, mkish@oregonian.com or @matthewkish.