Activision Blizzard’s latest round through the courts has ended with a $54 million proposed settlement in a gender discrimination lawsuit that was raised in July 2021. This lawsuit alleged that female employees were subject to rampant sexual harassment, unfair treatment in the workplace, and lower salaries, incentives, and bonuses than their male counterparts.
It has been stressed by the court that around $45 million of this settlement amount has been reserved for compensation payouts for the female-presenting employees impacted by this treatment and that Activision Blizzard has pledged to ensure parity between male and female employees going forward.
Progression
In September 2021, Activision Blizzard settled another claim of sexual harassment and discrimination, that time paying out a whopping $18 million in compensation. It has been a damning few years for Activision Blizzard that have culminated in mass walkouts, protests, petitions, and class action lawsuits.
In 2022, Activision Blizzard was famously pursued in a wrongful death lawsuit after an employee tragically took her own life, and her family claimed that it was because she was sexually harassed repeatedly while working at Activision Blizzard.
In a statement regarding the settlement, a spokesperson from Activision Blizzard said:
We appreciate the importance of the issues addressed in this agreement and we are dedicated to fully implementing all the new obligations we have assumed as part of it.
During the proceedings of the court, it was determined that Activision Blizzard’s leadership team – including Bobby Kotick, who will step down from his CEO role in the coming weeks – ‘acted improperly or ignored or tolerated a culture of harassment or discrimination’.
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