Excellent product and wonderful colleagues, but negative internal culture
Pros
I think the product itself has many useful applications and is well-created. I think this is a testament to the many very talented and dedicated people who are employed by Airtable. The product and the many great people who have contributed to it are the reasons why I have given the company two stars (as opposed to one).
Cons
I have to echo the sentiments of a previous review: management and the c-suite have created a culture of fear in which employees cannot speak up about almost any concerns. For example: I am aware of two separate instances in which different (white) managers told their employees (women of Color) that they would not receive promotions or pay raises in part because of their "appearance". They were asked to dress and present themselves in a more "professional" way, which was confusing because both women "presented" themselves in a way that was very much congruent with their peers. As a result, both women began presenting in a more "feminine" and "professional" way (e.g. wearing light makeup instead of going barefaced). This change satisfied their managers, and they were not approached again. Although HR and the CEO (and founder) were made aware of this issue, nothing was done on their behalf, and their managers were not reprimanded. I am also aware of instances in which multiple women were abruptly terminated after raising concerns about company policy or internal culture. In more than one instance, the employee was terminated during significant cross-team projects. As a result, their labor had to be picked up by their colleagues, who were not compensated for the increased workload and chastised when they spoke up about it. Seeing a colleague terminated for reasons that were (at best) unclear certainly helped contribute to a general atmosphere of fear and insecurity. I am also seriously concerned about D and I at the company. Many of the people of color at the company were hired in support roles, which paid significantly less than sales, design, or eng roles. After multiple engineers agitated for more diverse hires on their team, the CEO and founder stated in a company-wide meeting that non-white eng candidates often required more mentorship and training (?), and that we did not have the resources to sustain such a practice. His explanation was that the "top schools" just weren't producing enough non-white candidates (an excuse which diverts blame on the institutions), and that he was also unwilling to begin recruiting from CS programs that were more intentionally diverse. This was an answer that disappointed many of us. All in all: this is not a work environment I can recommend to anyone.
