Describes company as a “frat boy” atmosphere.
The state of California this week filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for alleged violations of state civil rights and equal pay act. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing charges Activision with running a frat house atmosphere where the top positions of the company are exclusively white and male. Women make up 20% of the staff and are routinely subjected to pay disparities, harassment, low prospects for promotions, and abuse by their male colleagues.
Most depressingly the lawsuit details a former female employee who had committed suicide due to the harassment she had been experiencing from male coworkers. Company leadership is accused of failing to take action and provide any form of support or remediation for employees, and Activision’s human resources department has been accused of assisting in retaliation against employees who complained of harassment, apparently being very close to the abusers.
The state agency seeks an injunction forcing Blizzard to comply with state laws, as well as relief for affected employees and damages. There are ten unnamed John Doe defendants also pegged in this lawsuit.
MMO Fallout 