Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest video game developers and publishers, faces a lawsuit over the treatment of women in the workspace.
The lawsuit comes from the California Department of Fair Employment following a two year investigation. This investigations showed alleged sexism and discrimination towards women within the company, with inappropriate behaviour by executives also cited. According to the lawsuit, women are also paid less within Activision Blizzard and are less likely to be promoted.
The California state government has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for some truly horrifying work place issues, including what the lawsuit alleges as “frat” culture at work.
The full lawsuit: https://t.co/kOR2iuqdrp pic.twitter.com/o9M5NucCOG
— Call of Duty News (@charlieINTEL) July 22, 2021
The DFEH also makes note of the culture within the company, likening it to that of a university frat. “Activision Blizzard have also fostered a pervasive ‘frat boy’ workplace culture that continues to thrive. In the office women are subjected to ‘cube crawls’ in which male employees drink copious amounts of alcohol as they ‘crawl’ their way through various cubicles in the office and often engage in inappropriate behavior towards female employees.”
Activision Blizzard denies the accusations made by the DFEH and released a statement talking about the lawsuit. “There is no place in our company or industry for sexual misconduct or harassment of any kind. In cases related to misconduct, action was taken to address the issue.”
It’s not the first time a studio of this size has faced accusations of harassment and sexual intimidation, as companies such as Riot Games and Ubisoft have also dealt with such issues.
Also read:
- Update: more allegations of sexual misconduct filed against Riot Games CEO
- Twitch accused of sexism and racism by employees in report
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