Anyone who thought publisher Activision Blizzard would become quieter after the takeover by Microsoft was wrong. Once again, the company faces a lawsuit accusing the publisher of sexism and discrimination.
Activision-Blizzard faces another lawsuit. Another employee of the publisher, who is only listed under the name Jane Doe, raises serious allegations of sexism and discrimination against the company. This is reported by Bloomberg magazine.
According to her own statements, Jane Doe has been employed at Activision-Blizzard since 2017 and assisted the managers of the IT department there. On her first day at the company, she was invited to lunch and forced to down several tequilas and reveal an “embarrassing secret.” In addition, they were often pressured to drink alcohol and take part in so-called ‘cube crawls’, in which women were subjected to sexual comments and allowed to be touched.
In addition, she should always take part in jackbox games to show how well she fits into the group. In this game, she had to give creative answers that were mostly sexual in nature. As a result, Jane Doe is said to have deliberately dressed more conservatively in order to avoid the sexual harassment and have avoided the leaders of her department. When she complained about the sexual harassment, she was said to have been advised only to keep her concerns to herself so as not to harm the company.
Her efforts to get out of the IT department were also fruitless. Every vacancy she has applied for at the company has been rejected, Doe said. It was only when she complained to the then head of the company, Allen J. Brack, that she got a new job, albeit with a lower salary.
In November 2021, she is said to have applied for an open position as an executive assistant, which she was rejected after a press conference in December 2021 where she spoke out about sexual harassment and discrimination. Among other demands, the prosecution wants Activision-Blizzard to install a rotating human resources department to avoid conflicts of interest with management. In addition, Bobby Kotick is to be fired.
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