Blizzard employee publicly says she was demoted after filing HR complaint about sexual harassment
A current employee of Activision Blizzard spoke publicly during today’s press conference about the “masculine culture that is detrimental to women” that she has experienced at the company, as well as sexual harassment. , revenge including dismissal, etc.
First reported by Polygon, the employee in question, whose name is Christine, spoke publicly during a press conference held outside Blizzard Irvine’s headquarters. Christine is represented by prominent attorney Lisa Bloom, who has represented women in sexual harassment and assault cases against defendants such as Bill O’Reilly and Bill Cosby. As noted by polygon, However, Bloom also served as a consultant to Harvey Weinstein during his sexual assault case.
Christine has been at Blizzard for four years and while there she says she experienced unwanted advances in terms of sex, inappropriate touching, etc.
During the conference, was live on Instagram, Christine read from a prepared statement. Here’s what she said, in full:
“My name is Christine. I have worked at Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Activision for over four years. I still work here. I don’t want to be here to do this, but we need to make changes. big change at Activision Blizzard Working at Blizzard was my dream job When I first heard about all the talented people working at Blizzard, I knew that was where I wanted to work and somewhere I can excel in my career. I’m excited to be part of a community that seems to care so much about their employees. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened to me since. working at Blizzard, I’ve been subjected to indecent comments about my body, unwanted sexual advances, inappropriate touching, dealing with group events involving alcohol, and cubs, invited to casual sex with my supervisors, and besieged by a disadvantageous male culture i for women.
When I complained to my supervisors, I was told they were just joking and I should get over it. I started to exclude myself from work events to avoid all the gendered comments and scrutiny. I was told not to go to HR. I learned that harassing men were just trying to be friends with me. I was told that they did nothing wrong before the law. After I complained about sexual harassment, I was demoted. Then I was harassed and retaliated. I was denied a share of my full profits, denied shares in the company, and raised the minimum in the four years I worked at Blizzard.
Struggling to keep my job in this toxic office culture took a toll on my mental health. I’m here today because I want to fight for a safe working environment for my employees. Blizzard has some great people working for them, but we need to feel safe and supported by people in leadership roles and hold people accountable for their actions. Thank you to everyone here today and everyone fighting for a better Blizzard. ”
Bloom made requests that she and Christine also want Blizzard to meet during the press conference. They are listed in full below:
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“We demand a streamlined, expeditious, fair process for victims to resolve their legal claims with an expanded victim compensation fund. Don’t make people like Christine file lawsuits and fight for years against the big companies that this company hired to protect it. Fundraising in excess of $100 million. Get victim advocates involved in setting the rules and let victims make the case for sympathy request administrators who have a history of caring for the victim. Let’s get this done now”.
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“We ask for a sincere apology to Christine and the many other victims who live with the tragedy of sexual harassment, neglect, humiliation and retaliation on a daily basis.”
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“We asked a neutral third party – not a major law enforcement firm – to review the professional damage suffered by employees like Christine, and then repair it. Give her the job she’s entitled to. Don’t report on her sexual harassment. She should be commended for wanting to make the company better.”
Activision Blizzard has brought Polygon the following statement when asked about today’s press conference:
We appreciate the bravery of our current and former employees in taking up reports of misconduct, and we sincerely apologize to any victims of such misconduct. not in line with our values. As we have continued to reaffirm in our recent announcements, such behavior is inconsistent with our standards, our expectations, and what the vast majority of our employees meet on a daily basis. There is no place in our company or industry, or any industry, for sexual misconduct, harassment or retaliation of any kind. We will not tolerate any behavior that is inconsistent with our values and will hold employees responsible for not adhering to those values.
The company is committed to creating an environment we can all be proud of. We are in the process of making significant changes and improvements to the scope, structure, and effectiveness of our compliance teams and human resources, reporting systems, and transparency in the investigation process. ours. The safety and support of our employees, especially those affected, remains our top priority.
Christine’s press conference comes after months of turmoil at Activision Blizzard, which included numerous lawsuits and more. Catch up all Game informant Report on the ongoing Activision Blizzard story here.
[Source: Polygon]
