If I came across a news article reporting that my favorite company was accused of widespread discrimination against individuals from a group I associate with, it would absolutely change how I felt about the company. Trust is central to my support of any organization, and discovering evidence of systemic discrimination would create serious doubts about the company’s culture, leadership, and commitment to ethical values.
It would strongly influence my decision to support the company moving forward. Even if the company produced products or services I liked, I would find it difficult to justify continuing to purchase from them or publicly associate myself with their brand. Consumer behavior research shows that customers increasingly hold companies accountable for their social responsibility, and I believe that supporting companies financially is a form of endorsement. Unless the company demonstrated meaningful efforts to correct the harm — not just through public relations statements, but through transparent, systemic changes — I would likely withdraw my support.
It would also change whether I would apply to work for the company in the future. A workplace that tolerates or enables discrimination is not one where I could see myself growing professionally or personally. Management research emphasizes the importance of organizational culture in employee engagement and retention, and a discriminatory environment would conflict deeply with my values. I would need to see clear evidence of structural reform, leadership change, and a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion before I would even reconsider.
Ultimately, discrimination erodes the foundation of trust and shared purpose that makes any company truly great. It would be difficult for me to overlook such a fundamental issue.
It would strongly influence my decision to support the company moving forward. Even if the company produced products or services I liked, I would find it difficult to justify continuing to purchase from them or publicly associate myself with their brand. Consumer behavior research shows that customers increasingly hold companies accountable for their social responsibility, and I believe that supporting companies financially is a form of endorsement. Unless the company demonstrated meaningful efforts to correct the harm — not just through public relations statements, but through transparent, systemic changes — I would likely withdraw my support.
It would also change whether I would apply to work for the company in the future. A workplace that tolerates or enables discrimination is not one where I could see myself growing professionally or personally. Management research emphasizes the importance of organizational culture in employee engagement and retention, and a discriminatory environment would conflict deeply with my values. I would need to see clear evidence of structural reform, leadership change, and a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion before I would even reconsider.
Ultimately, discrimination erodes the foundation of trust and shared purpose that makes any company truly great. It would be difficult for me to overlook such a fundamental issue.
One reply on “Experiences with discrimination”
Samuel,
I understand your point of view. Trust goes very far for me and is important. Another thing that is also very important to me is making sure that these assumptions are true. It wouldn’t be fair to the company to be accused of accusations that might not even be true. It is hard not to act on the first thing you hear and hard not to act on emotion for some people. That’s why it is important to make sure you aren’t being unfair to a company if they did nothing wrong. Although, if it were true I can understand your values because as a person of color, it is not easy to be put in these situations and sometimes it is even hard to talk about it. Thank you for your post!