Activision Blizzard Employees Walk Out After Allegations of Rampant Sexism
Employees at the gaming giant Activision Blizzard staged a walkout on Wednesday, capping off a week of escalating tensions over how executives have handled accusations of discrimination and sexual harassment at the 10,000-person company.
Outside Activision Blizzard’s office in Irvine, California, Wednesday morning, employees held signs with messages such as “Believe Women,” “Commit to Equality,” “nerf male privilege” and “Fight bad guys in game / Fight bad guys IRL.” Cars drove by honking their horns. Online, the hashtag #ActiBlizzWalkout was trending as fans of titles like World of Warcraft and Overwatch expressed overwhelming support, including pledges to boycott games for the day in solidarity.
An organizer said about 500 people attended the event. An unknown number of other employees participated in the work stoppage remotely.
“We love our jobs, but our jobs don’t love us back,” one Activision employee told WIRED ahead of the walkout. “And that hurts. So we’re trying to change that.”
Today’s walkout was spurred, in part, by Activision Blizzard leadership’s reaction to an explosive lawsuit filed by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing last week. The suit alleges rampant workplace inequality, from unequal pay for similar work to a leadership culture that permitted sexual harassment and even retaliated against women who came forward.
