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Activision Blizzard employees are chasing after allegations of light sexism

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Workers The giant game Activision Blizzard took a walk today and raised tensions for a week to find out how directors have handled allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment in the company of 10,000 people.

Outside Activision Blizzard’s office in Irvine, California, on Wednesday morning, staff posted messages such as “Believe Women,” “Commitment to Equality,” “Nerf Men’s Privilege,” and “Fight male fight game in Fight / Fight bad guys IRL.” they had. Cars were blowing horns. Online, the hashtag #ActiBlizzWalkout was in vogue as a fan of titles World of Warcraft and Overwatch he expressed full support, including commitments to boycott the day’s games in solidarity.

More than 200 people attended the walkout ceremony, based on photos posted on the internet. Another unknown number of employees were remotely involved in the work stoppage.

“We love our jobs, but our jobs don’t love us again,” said one Activision employee Cable before the walk. “And that hurts. So we’re trying to change that. “

Today’s ride is partly fueled by a reaction from an Activision Blizzard executive explosion demand presented last week by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The lawsuit alleges a wide range of work imbalances, ranging from unbalanced pay for similar work that allowed sexual harassment and progress to a culture of retaliation against women who were retaliated against.

In response, Activision Blizzard released a statement saying the company values ​​diversity, but criticized the DFEH’s two-year investigation as “the irresponsible behavior of irresponsible state bureaucrats who are expelling many of the state’s best businesses from California.” Fran Townsend, an executive at Activision Blizzard, a former security adviser to George W. Bush, sounded the same tone. In a letter he sent to staff last week, Achieved by Axios, said the lawsuit was “really irresponsible and irresponsible,” and said the allegations about it were “truly wrong” or “old.” He also said he is “proud” to be a member of a company that works hard to “unsuitable work environments or enemies”. President J. Allen Brack, who is named in the lawsuit, said they were “extremely concerned” in another internal email. according to Bloomberg.

Photo: Alex Welsh
Photo: Alex Welsh

Employees — especially those with personal experiences of sexual harassment and discrimination in the company — did not listen to responses that made them feel at all sensitive, as well as dissimulating responses. On Monday, Activision Blizzard employees in an open letter condemned the management’s statements, saying they were “embarrassing and offensive to everything our company should be defending.” The letter believed that the workers would “put the safety of the workers above their interests” and Townsend called for her resignation as Executive Sponsor of the ABK Women’s Network. By Tuesday evening, the letter had more than 3,200 signatures from current and former employees.

“The lawsuit raised feelings of isolation from people who felt they were alone for the longest time or that revenge could happen,” said Activision staff and representatives of the walkout movement, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “I think he’s giving a voice to the voiceless.” To help these people, staff from Blizzard, Activision, and King — Activision Blizzard under the umbrella — began organizing.

“The move has been company-wide, it’s a collaborative effort between hundreds and hundreds of people,” said a Blizzard employee and a representative of the walkout movement. Cable. The employee added that there is no dialogue about unionization. Organizers announced the departure on Tuesday. They also released a statement of intent for the action, as well as several requests, including: sharing employee compensation data to ensure fair pay; hiring policies that better promote diversity; and a third, to bring in a team selected by the staff to handle human resources and executive staff.



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