ActivisionBlizzard is under attack. This comes from a complaint from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which has been investigating the matter for two years. Accordingly, there is an outrageous corporate culture in which women are subject to permanent sexual harassment and discrimination.
The California state allegations in court are substantial. Women employees are hardly considered for management positions, paid less, promoted more slowly and dismissed more quickly, the authority notes in the complaint. Unequal treatment extends to requirements as well. Women, especially non-whites, are more closely monitored, have less freedom and have to do a lot more than their male colleagues. The fact that numerous examples are described underlines the scope of the problem.
In addition, according to the complaint, female employees are exposed to “constant sexual harassment” that arises from a “fraternity culture” and has no consequences for the perpetrators. The analogy with working for a fraternity has been “almost consistently confirmed” by female employees, writes the authority. As an example, a game described as usual is described in which male employees crawl through the individual compartments of the office while drunk and “behave inappropriately” towards female colleagues. This includes groping her, joking about rape, going to work and commenting on her breasts.
The “Crosby-Suite”
Alex Afrasiabi, a Senior Creative Director of World of Warcraft, is named. At a company party he tried to kiss female colleagues in public and put his arms around them, he had to be “pulled away” by female colleagues. Because Afrasiabi was known in the company for this behavior, his office was called “Crosby Suite”.
The name alludes to Bill Cosby. There were only consequences in the form of appraisal interviews, which did not have any effect on behavior. Afrasiabi no longer works for Blizzard, which the company made little fuss about, unlike when Jeff Kaplan left. Players are now demanding that characters in World of Warcraft be renamed with Afrasiabi's name as in similar cases, reports Kotaku.
Complaints without effect
Complaints about the practices and issues addressed to Human Resources and current President J. Allen Brack also generally did not change the status quo. The defendants would continue to tolerate this state of affairs. The HR department is also not trusted because, among other things, complaints are met with negative attitudes and these are not treated confidentially. According to the lawsuit, their authors are therefore exposed to retaliatory measures.
Such a culture was tolerated, at least in the upper management level, because it was “at least known” there, if it was not actively pursued there as well.
Blizzard sees (no) a problem
ActivisionBlizzard's comments paint a mixed picture. In an initial reaction to The Verge, the group called the agency's behavior “irresponsible” and “unprofessional” and accused the state of driving its “irresponsible bureaucrats” away. They have cooperated over the past few years and have already initiated considerable changes.
Blizzard president J. Allen Brack sent out an email to staff last night addressing the allegations from this week & # 39; s explosive lawsuit, calling them & quot; extremely troubling & quot; and saying that he & # 39; d be & quot; meeting with many of you to answer questions and discuss how we can move forward. & quot; pic.twitter.com/NsMV6CNdTE
& mdash; Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) July 23, 2021
In an internal email to employees, J. Allen Brack suggests a different tone. The allegations and “pain of former and current employees” are described as “extremely disturbing”. Brack takes a clear position and announces talks to coordinate the next steps.
This email not only contrasts with the official statement, but also with another email from Fran Townsend, who has worked as Chief Compliance Officer at Blizzard and as part of the ABK Emplyee Women & apos; s Network since March. It portrays Blizzard as a company that “truly values equality and fairness”. The description suggests that there is no problem with discrimination or harassment. The lawsuit accuses Townsend of painting a “distorted and wrong picture”.
Employees reacted “angry” to the mail, writes Jason Schreier, who published the message. Eurogamer collects similar reactions from social media, some of which confirmed the prosecution's allegations. Long-time Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime also has no doubts about the charges. In a long statement, he apologizes for having failed: He obviously failed to create an environment that is equally protected and inviting for everyone.
Activision Blizzard executive Fran Townsend, who was the Homeland Security Advisor to George W. Bush from 2004-2007 and joined Activision in March, sent out a very different kind of email that has some Blizzard employees fuming. pic.twitter.com/BxGeMTuRYF
& mdash; Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) July 23, 2021
An industry problem
Also if the scope of the allegations and the corporate culture behind them seem extreme: Blizzard is not alone with the basic problem. Sexism and discrimination are known in the industry. A good year ago, Ubisoft was confronted with similar allegations, and the phenomenon was widespread there too. The company has not gotten rid of the issue. In the past few days there have been reports of the state of the Ubisoft studio in Singapore, suggesting that little has changed there.