News | Over 1,500 Activision Blizzard Employees Condemn Leadership

Last week, the state of California sued Activision Blizzard for discrimination and sexual harassment, based on two years of investigation. Within the company, discrimination is alleged to take place in various ways, including promotions and salary, especially among women. They would also be sexually harassed in the workplace.

The letter, now signed by more than 1,500 employees, was drafted following the company’s response to the allegations. An internal memo from chief compliance officer Frances Townsend also leaked. According to Townsend, the allegations paint a “distorted and inaccurate picture of the publisher and use factually incorrect, old and out of context stories”.

Activision Blizzard’s public response and internal memo are said to be “abhorrent and offensive to everything we believe the company should stand for.” The letter reads: “We believe these statements damage our continued pursuit of equality within and outside our industry.” According to the letter, “it creates doubts about whether our company can hold the abusers accountable for their actions and whether it can create a safe work environment for victims who want to express themselves in the future. The statements make it clear that our leadership does not change our values. first place.”

The letter also demands that Townsend step down from her position as executive sponsor of the Activision Blizzard King Employee Women’s Network. Also, employees want company leadership to work with them to make sure employees have “a safe place to speak up.” A full version of the letter can be read on Kotaku.

The toxic work culture within Activision Blizzard and the company’s response to the allegations has been puzzling within the publisher. For example, senior developer Jeff Hamilton reports that almost all work on World of Warcraft has been stopped.

The California indictment cited several examples of toxic work behavior within Activision Blizzard. For example, executives would try to seduce female employees and women are less likely to be promoted – because they could possibly become pregnant. Criticism would also be expressed when children have to be picked up from daycare. Male executives would joke about rape. Reference is also made to an employee who committed suicide on a business trip, who allegedly suffered from sexual harassment before her death. For example, nude photos of her would have been sent around at a company party.

The purpose of the indictment is to ensure a safer work environment at Activision Blizzard, as well as to ensure that salaries are equalized.