Don't do it - Anonymous employee Dow Employee Review

1.0
26 Sept 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Ability to move around globally.

Cons

Management of career is less than what they advertise. Best to be a member of the good ol boys club to get ahead. Begged for feedback for improvement from leader and received vanilla response and no guidance. Managers are being asked to reduce work force based on employee ID and salary. This years employee survey includes fine print that states your feedback will be going into your employee file, which can be used to continue thinning out the workforce. Yearly reviews are based on whether or not you did better than somebody who could be working in a building on the other side of the site. Ratings are not based on merit, hard work, or results, but if you made yourself look better than the guy next to you. If you are a man, someone who doesn't need to take any time off for medical reasons including maternity, and willing to commit your every waking moment to this company, this is the place for you. Time away from work for medical reasons is held against you come performance review time. The CEO is walking away with $50+ million for a "severance" while folks with 40 years in are being forced out by having to accept positions at half their pay. Walking away from this place ended the longest, most stressful, depressive, time of my life.

Explore other reviews about Dow

5.0
1 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good career growth opportunities, great work/life balance, great benefits

Cons

Pay is ok but not great.

2.0
22 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Safety culture, flexibility (although less and less over time). Good health insurance and 401k match

Cons

Dow’s recent years illustrate the challenges of trying to simultaneously satisfy Wall Street’s demands for strong financial performance and aggressive DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) priorities. The company has heavily emphasized inclusion initiatives, including its openly gay CEO publicly sharing that coming out was one of the best days of his life in an internal communication, along with a notable increase in women appointed to senior leadership roles. Hiring practices reportedly require diverse candidate slates—including female candidates—and diverse interview panels before filling positions. These efforts, while well-intentioned, appear to have contributed to a series of questionable strategic decisions. Employees have borne the brunt through repeated rounds of layoffs (including significant cuts announced in recent years), minimal merit increases often in the 2-3% range, stalled promotions, and little turnover at the top levels of leadership. Senior executives seem insulated from the consequences, potentially overlooking how these factors—including their own leadership—may be central to the company’s ongoing struggles.

1
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All