Adobe

Adobe is a large company- so looking at how they treat women needs to be through the lens of the division. Being a high-performing sales women in that organization means you are playing in the boy’s club- during my tenure it was an all male sales management team top-down. Plenty of men where hired or moved above and around myself and several other performing sales women– as they tend to be more comfortable with their male counterparts in management.

The sales organization has no sense of balance for anyone with a family male or female- it’s a ‘go go go’ be on a plane constantly role– I left when I found out I was pregnant due to the stress and negativity from my primary manager– who had repeated negative comments about other women on the team. Even though Adobe has fantastic maternity benefits and overall benefits, the sales culture is not conducive to having a child or returning to the field. After watching other female sales reps unable to take their proper leave much less be treated well during their pregnancy. I made the decision it was not worth staying in the org under our particular manager who rather than embracing the change of life made women feel lesser for it and gave away accounts. It was unfortunate to be forced in that decision but I do not regret leaving.

I was recommended 18 months later to return to Adobe and applied for a NAM role where I was then interviewed by an new Executive female who “loved hiring women.” During the interview, she commented that she ‘stayed home with her young children’ before re-entering the workforce and was ‘unsure i could handle a sales role.’ (Mind you I was running a territory and performing 6 weeks post birth and during the interview my child was now 10 months). The only reason she knew I had a young baby was from the person who had recommended me back into the org not because I brought it up in the interview. I found that the discriminatory behavior had not really changed even under a female lead– but not surprising from the Adobe culture.

They are a very male dominated culture and have ‘token’ events for women- but on the sales side the women are phenomenally tough- despite the blatant disrespect verbally of women of most any age on the sales team. It is possible to make money in sales there as long as you realize what you can and cannot achieve. What Adobe presents to the public and how they treat women in sales– are quite different and it’s not a place I would ever consider working under the current Executive environment. Saying your female friendly and actually doing it are two different things in that org.

I had the opportunity to work in Adobe as Italy Segment Marketing Manager with a temporary contract (1 year) of Maternity Recovery (2010/2011).
I found a very family friendly environment.
I also met some resistance in the company due to the fact that there were sentimental and personal relationships between managers and employees. This generated integration difficulties of female staff who was not part of established relationships built outside the professional world.

I watched my male counter parts get promotions and higher raises for 5 years, despite personally receiving raving quarterly reviews. After returning from maternity leave I was told my position had changed and a few months later I was laid off due to ‘role elimination’. I signed my release papers in order to get my severance package realizing later that if I may have been discriminated against that I could not take action because I signed my right to file a claim away. Two months after that, my managers and coworkers posted my position for hire across social media and LinkedIn. While working there, I was very happy with the corporate benefits and feel that I was treated well from a company stand point. I think my case came down to my individual Directors decision and I would recommend that Adobe not give so much autonomy to those positions, especially if they advertise and promote such an amazing female-friendly momcentric work experience. I think that is a lot of lip service.

Não me senti igual aos homens na Adobe, acredito ainda ser uma empresa machista.

Adobe is very supportive for women at workplace. You can see a lots of woman managers and team leads.

Adobe provides a very equal playing field for both women and men. Teams are built with focus on synergy. Support for individual growth within could improve. But overall Adobe is an excellent employer providing great opportunities for all.

I have been at Adobe for 5+ years. Based on what I have experienced IMO Adobe does well by women in Tech roles, especially strictly Tech, with excellent and equal pay. Where Adobe gets lower marks is in supporting actual career growth within. I do see quite a lot of the more subtle gender bias around me.