|
|
|
|
Sticking to Her
Principles Anti-Gay Sign Forces Job-Seeker to Do a 180 It’s rare to see someone put their principles over their pocketbook, but Jennifer Bond let a snowboard maker know they could take their job and shove it. Bond, an auditor, turned down a job opportunity with K2 Sports after learning that the company’s Ride Snowboards promoted a trade show sign that was homophobic.
This past May Bond, a lesbian with dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, was on her way to K2’s headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., in the final stages of a job interview when she did an online search and discovered articles about the sign. She then sent the company e-mails, which she shared with Outsports. We have deleted any contact information. “When considering a position at a company, the first thing I do is research it's track record in the areas of human rights/diversity,” Bond wrote. “Your career site is very lacking in any information so I was forced to do a search online. It was brought to my attention that K2 Sports was involved in a very discriminatory advertisement that I take offense too. I will not go into the details here other than giving you a sampling of links and suggesting you read about it yourselves. … “People/companies make mistakes so I did not allow this to make my final decision regarding K2. I was excited about the opportunity, I assumed that K2 Sports would learn from their advertising error and move forward. Hoping this was the case, I called your corporate office this morning and talked with [name removed] regarding benefit information. I asked her one question, does K2 include same sex domestic partner benefits coverage? Her answer was ‘No, K2 has decided that we are legally not required to provide this and as a "cost savings" measure, we are not doing so.’ “Well your "cost savings measure" is a ‘discrimination measure’ in my opinion and I sadly must turn down your offer to come work with your company. I do not currently need same sex domestic partner benefits, but a company having those benefits, is indicative of the overall tone at the company as it relates to diversity. Sadly it appears that K2 learned nothing from the anti-gay advertising they previously used and I in all good conscience, can not work for a company that does not value me as an individual. Sadly your ‘cost savings’ measure has just cost you an excellent employee. Best of luck in your search.” Bond then received this from a K2 official: ”Thank you for your email. We are disappointed you have decided not to explore this opportunity with K2 further. Best of luck to you in the future.” Bond then let Burton, Ride’s competitor, know what she had done: “Good afternoon Burton Sports Press Dept. I am forwarding you the below thread as it mentions your product which was used in a smear campaign last year by K2 Sports. I thought this may be of interest to you in how you as a company move forward in advertising to the Gay & Lesbian community. I am a lesbian who was offered a very well paid job at K2 Sports ($100,000 annually, I was scheduled to fly to Carlsbad ... to wrap up the offer). When I came across the ads mentioned in the below email I sent them the message below. This is one example of how a smack to a community can continue to cost a company money, if not in lost sales years later, then in lost talent. Hopefully Burton has a more ‘open minded’ attitude towards advertising towards our community.” Bond said she never received a reply from Burton and only the short reply from K2. She does not regret her actions. “I am still looking for work,” Bond told Outsports. “I'd rather be unemployed and be respected than employed by a company whose values and beliefs were in opposition to my own.”
July 11, 2005 |
