Activision Blizzard sued over ‘culture of sexual harassment’

The US state of California is taking game publisher Activision Blizzard to court for far-reaching discriminatory and sexually transgressive behaviour. Women within the company would be less likely to get promotions and there would be a ‘frat-boy culture’.

The lawsuit against the company was filed by the state’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, writes the Bloomberg news agency. The agency would have investigated the company for two years. It found that Activision Blizzard discriminates against women in various ways when it comes to equal opportunity around pay, promotions and other aspects of employment. In addition, there would be a culture in which women are sexually harassed.

According to the lawsuit, the female employees, who make up roughly 20 percent of the company, claim they are less likely to be promoted because of the possibility of becoming pregnant. They are also criticized when they have to pick up children from day care and they cannot use the pumping rooms because male colleagues claim them for meetings.

There is a broad culture of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment within the company, prosecutors say. Male executives would try to woo the women and make rape jokes. Male employees would ‘drink large amounts of alcohol, then harass women, and play games themselves during working hours while handing out work to female employees.

The lawsuit specifically refers to a female employee who took her own life while on a business trip. The woman is said to have experienced ‘intense sexual harassment’, which included sending nude photos among employees. Prosecutors are demanding that Activision Blizzard do more to create a safe working environment. They also want arrears to be paid and salaries to be adjusted.

Activision Blizzard says in response to The New York Times that it does not recognize itself in the complaints outlined. “The picture the DFEH paints is not the Blizzard workplace of today,” the company says. Blizzard has been accused of a sick work culture for years, for example when it paid women to track their pregnancy and fertility with an app in 2019. Activision Blizzard simultaneously lashes out at prosecutors. They would not have discussed the complaints with the company before proceeding to a lawsuit. “It is this kind of irresponsible behavior by bureaucrats that causes many companies to leave the state of California,” the company says.