Decent company with extreme vision - Anonymous employee Dow Employee Review

3.0
27 May 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good benefits. Salaries are on par with other basic chemical companies, (but lags with regards to petro-chem). Incredible amount of freedom, ownership, and empowerment. Very pro LGBT. Positive diversity in most places. Safety and environment are a priority. Managers are free to take care of their people (and do). Lots of opportunities. Company believes in multiple roles during career and would rather hire from within than outside. Overseas/expat roles are available.

Cons

New vision has cost many jobs. Outlook among employees is not very positive. Corporate HR is extremely untrustworthy; do not believe what is said orally, always get things in writing and then thoroughly explained...and then in writing again from another person (I cannot stress this enough. Been bad of late for a number of co-workers). New employees (especially engineers) are usually not mentored properly. Takes a dedicated hard driver to get past the first few years. Prepare to sacrifice outside the plant life doing so. Expat employees have been left to swing in the breeze. This fact alone has cost the company much respect in my eyes.

Explore other reviews about Dow

5.0
16 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Culture and the technical expertise within the company provide for a working environment where you don't work in silo and everyone is willing to help support you

Cons

Administrative systems can be burdensome to overcome.

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.

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