Riot Games, developer of the number one online game worldwide, League of Legends, shows a picture on their website of several thousand employees gathering to illustrate the company’s commitment to diversity. Recently, however, the company had to confront serious allegations of creating an unwelcoming work environment and harassing and abusing employees.
Allegations About Riot Games
The following are the current allegations against the gaming giant:
- A complaint voiced by many that the company expects female employees to be as into games as its male employees.
- Male employees made remarks about women’s breasts and other parts.
- A transgender employee described working under extreme pressure, with no allowance made for psychological problems, including depression.
- Male employees sent female colleagues unsolicited pictures of their genitalia.
- One woman described a deeply hostile environment where colleagues used sexual and gender slurs in normal conversation.
- A work team with one female member was named Bros and Ho.
A Culture Driven by Gamers
Typical sexual harassment cases revolve around offenses by a small group of people. At Riot Games, complaints about a toxic work environment, harassment, and outright sexual abuse turned on the entire culture of the company.
Online games are an aggressive, no-holds-barred product area. Men working in the industry tend to be hardcore gamers, while women do not share those qualities. Riot Games has made a stunning apology to its employees and customers, publishing the complaints and promising to turn over a new leaf in its culture and commitment to fair treatment.
What the Company Promised
The company vowed to weave this change into its institutional DNA and leave no room for sexism, discrimination, or misogyny. The company additionally committed to six efforts to weed out existing sexist culture:
- Expanding and re-prioritizing its Culture and D&I Initiative, with an empowered culture team reporting directly to the CEO.
- By revisiting cultural definitions, the company seeks to ensure that its terms, like gamer, do not target one gender over another.
- The company will bring in outside consultants to observe the changes.
- Beefing up its investigatory process and systems, including setting up a discrimination hotline to report incidents.
- Re-evaluating recruiting, so prospective employees are given a fair shake.
- Doubling down on training employees in overcoming biases in the workplace, even unintentional ones. Everyone takes part, including top management.
Discrimination only ends when companies eliminate not just the more serious offenses, such as sexual abuse, but the everyday abuse that flows from jokes, remarks, pictures, and gestures.
Philadelphia Sexual Harassment Lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. Advocate for Victims Sexually Harassed in the Workplace
If you have been a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, or work in a toxic environment, the Philadelphia sexual harassment lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. are ready to fight for you. Contact us online or call us today at 215-569-1999 for a free consultation. We are centrally located in Philadelphia, and we serve clients from Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, and throughout New Jersey.
