Activision Blizzard is set to experience a management overhaul as CEO Bobby Kotick will reportedly step down in the coming weeks. Although it was known that Kotick would leave the studio in December 2023 after helping Microsoft acquire Activision, the news gained special significance after Activision recently agreed to pay $54 million to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit from July 2021. The lawsuit, which accused the studio of pay and promotion inequity, also forced Activision to take a stern stance when it came to maintaining equality between their male and female workforce.
Back in 2021, Activision Blizzard faced a massive gender discrimination lawsuit that accused the studio of not treating its female employees properly. Apart from allegations of unacceptable s**ual harrasment and discrimination, the lawsuit also accused Activision of not having parity between their male and female employees. Additionally, people have alleged that the women were treated unfairly, paid much less, and had fewer incentives as well as bonuses to work for when compared to their male colleagues.
It should be noted that Activision has since denied the allegations, and the California Civil Rights Department, as part of the settlement, has dropped all allegations of harassment against the company. Hence, the final settlement only talks of disparity in pay and promotion, and as reported, Activision will pay $54 million to settle the matter once and for all. Reports also mention that around $46 million of the total payout will be used to compensate female employees who were affected by this issue. Furthermore, we should let readers know that although Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick will be leaving the company in the near future, his departure was pre-determined and has nothing to do with the lawsuit. In fact, the settlement statement claims there is no proof that the CEO had ever tolerated or accepted such workplace issues
Activision doesn’t have a good history with harassment and discrimination lawsuits
The last few years weren’t easy for Activision Blizzard as they were hit by a slew of lawsuits, none of which did their reputation any good. In 2021, the studio had to pay out $18 million in compensation charges to settle a discrimination and s**ual harassment claim. Similarly, in 2022, they had to deal with a wrongful death lawsuit after a female employee suddenly died by suicide and her family alleged that discrimination and s**ual harassment at the workplace drove her to take such a drastic step.
In early 2023, Activision Blizzard faced another bump in the road when they had to part with $35 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a charge, which accused them of failure to maintain disclosures to shareholders. Even though the same lawsuit also accused the studio of violating a federal law on whistleblower protection, it seems like Activision has turned over a new leaf for the better. In fact, in a statement regarding the $54 million settlement, the studio emphasized its drive to implement equality in the workplace by saying, “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.”
