Transgender software engineer accuses Nike of workplace discrimination
A giant sculpture reads ‘Do the right thing,’ at the Nike headquarters on March 22, 2018 in Beaverton, Oregon. (Natalie Behring/Getty)
A transgender software engineer hired as a contractor for Nike hasĀ filed a workplace discriminationĀ complaint against the company.
Jazz Lyles, who identifies as “transmasculine/non-binary” and uses the pronouns “they” and “them,” hasĀ submittedĀ the complaint to theĀ Oregon Bureau of Labor and IndustriesĀ on September 25, claiming that the companyĀ failed to provide a respectful and inclusive workplace,Ā local newspaperĀ Williamette WeekĀ reported.
Lyles was hired as a contractor to work in the company’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Ahead of the start date of May 1, 2017, Lyles communicated theirĀ pronoun preferenceĀ through their recruiterābut,Ā they allege in the complaint, Nike employees and other contractors made no effort to respect their Lyles’, addressingĀ them using female pronouns.
Nike hasĀ often supported LGBT+ rights as part of its marketing campaigns, including featuringĀ transgenderĀ duathleteĀ Chris Mosier in a 2016 campaign and transgender vogue dancerĀ Leiomy Maldonado as part of the #betrue campaign in 2017.
But Lyles did not feel supported duringĀ the employment at the company, claimingĀ their repeated requests to Nike supervisorsĀ to enforce their preferred pronouns were ignored.
“They talked a great game on LGBTQ issues,” LylesĀ said,Ā “but when you ask them to actually stand up for these issues, it gets communicated to you that you are the problem.”
Jazz Lyles is a 36-year-old software engineer originally from Houston, Texas. (Jazz Lyles/Twitter)
Nike has offered no comment on the complaint.
According to the complaint, one colleague stopped talking to Lyles after they sent an article explaining the importance of using a person’s preferred pronouns, while another female co-worker refused to identify Lyles via gender-neutral pronoun due to her “religious beliefs.”
“Nike’s response and solution was not to take corrective action,” LylesĀ said, “But instead [the response] was to treat me like I was the problem.”
Nike transferred Lyles to a new teamĀ in December, but the situation failed to improveāit actually got worse.
Lyles said they received immediate pushback against their requestĀ to use gender-neutral pronouns and, in January 2018, one female colleague went so far as saying:Ā “I’m really not sure what to call you. I know I’m not supposed to call you ‘shemale.'”
Nike eventually provided training on gender issues January 25, 2018, but only for a few of Lyles’ co-workers rather than the whole company.
“It again singled me out, made me a problem, and exacerbated the issues with my team,” Lyles said in the complaint. “It would be like holding a training on racial sensitivity with the only team with a black person on it.”
The main entrance of the Nike headquarters is seen on March 22, 2018 in Beaverton, Oregon. (Natalie Behring/Getty)
The toxic work environment took a tall on Lyles’ health, according to the complaint, so they began working from home in August.Ā “I felt invisible and unheard and silenced,” Lyles says. “Language has the ability to erase a person completely.”
By that time, their contractĀ had beenĀ extended twice. Lyles was however rejectedĀ from being offered aĀ full-time position despite their direct supervisor’s support.
Nike claimed it was entering a “hiring freeze,” but Lyles failed to believe that as other contractors had been hired full-time. The complaint alleges both discrimination and retaliation.
