Activision Blizzard employees are set to strike today, with them staging a walkout in protect against the alleged history of discrimination at the company. This follows a lawsuit filed from California’s Department of Fair Employment, which alleged harassment and discrimination faced by the publisher and developer’s female staff members.
Activision Blizzard walkout explained
Activision Blizzard, the company behind mega-hits such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch, was condemned in the lawsuit for its “frat-boy culture,” which allegedly included male employees sexually harassing or discriminating the women among their staff. In a widely criticized response, executive Fran Townsend reportedly sent an email out to staff in which she said that the lawsuit “presented a distorted and untrue picture” of the company.
Following the lawsuit and Activision Blizzard’s corporate response to it, current employees are planning a walkout today, July 28, in protest. Employees want to “call on the executive leadership to work with us,” noting that they wanted to improve conditions at the company, particularly for “women of color and transgender women, nonbinary people, and other marginalized groups.”
Employees reportedly sent the following statement to leadership, as shared by BlizzardWatch:
- An end to mandatory arbitration clauses in all employee contracts, current and future. Arbitration clauses protect abusers and limit the ability of victims to seek restitution.
- The adoption of recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and promotion policies designed to improve representation among employees at all levels, agreed upon by employees in a company-wide Diversity, Equity & Inclusion organization. Current practices have led to women, in particular women of color and transgender women, nonbinary people, and other marginalized groups that are vulnerable to gender discrimination not being hired fairly for new roles when compared to men.
- Publication of data on relative compensation (including equity grants and profit sharing), promotion rates, and salary ranges for employees of all genders and ethnicities at the company. Current practices have led to aforementioned groups not being paid or promoted fairly.
- Empower a company-wide Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion task force to hire a third party to audit ABK’s reporting structure, HR department, and executive staff. It is imperative to identify how current systems have failed to prevent employee harassment, and to propose new solutions to address these issues.
The walkout will take place from 10 AM–2 PM PDT and will be held in front of Blizzard Campus’ main gate.
Activision Blizzard stocks plummet
Following the filing of the lawsuit, Activision stock plummeted, dropping from nearly $90 USD to just over $82. After the company’s response to the lawsuit was criticized, CEO Bobby Kotick posted his own open letter to staff, which was later made public.
“Our initial responses to the issues we face together, and to your concerns, were, quite frankly, tone deaf,” Kotick said “It is imperative that we acknowledge all perspectives and experiences and respect the feelings of those who have been mistreated in any way. I am sorry that we did not provide the right empathy and understanding.”
It remains to be seen if Activision Blizzard will listen to the demands of its workers or how this situation will play out, with many calling for figureheads within the company to be removed from their positions.
In other news, Oculus Quest 2 sales have been halted following skin irritation complaints. Abandoned’s latest teaser has also divided conspiracy theorists who believe it’s related to Hideo Kojima.
