Activision has published the findings of an internal investigation conducted on itself following the series of lawsuits and scandals which have rocked the company in the past year.
The primary conclusion of this investigation claims that “while there are some substantiated instances of gender harassment”, it did not find that the publisher’s executives and board members “were aware of and tolerated gender harassment”.
This conclusion also denies “that there was ever a systemic issue with harassment, discrimination or retaliation” within the company.
Activision Investigates Activision Over Harassment Allegations
As reported by PCGamesN, in the document Activision states: “Contrary to many of the allegations, the Board and its external advisors have determined that there is no evidence to suggest that Activision Blizzard senior executives ever intentionally ignored or attempted to downplay the instances of gender harassment that occurred and were reported.”
It also cites the findings of former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Gilbert Casellas, whom it states as having “concluded that there was no widespread harassment, pattern or practice of harassment, or systemic harassment at Activision Blizzard or at any of its business units during that time frame”.
Beyond this, the company claims Casellas determined that “based on the volume of reports, the amount of misconduct reflected is comparatively low for a company the size of Activision Blizzard”.
Activision goes on to dismiss journalistic coverage of the allegations against senior figures in the company, referring to “an unrelenting barrage of media criticism that attempts to paint the entire company (and many innocent employees) with the stain of a very small portion of our employee population who engaged in bad behaviour and were disciplined for it.”
Addressing the allegations made by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) in an ongoing lawsuit against the publisher, filed in July 2021, Activision refers to them as “highly inflammatory” and “made-for-press”, while also stating that no court has yet ruled the allegations to be true.
On the other hand, the publisher also outlines a litany of “reforms and improvements” it is undertaking to improve its workplace, including hiring a Vice President for Workplace Integrity and Equal Employment Opportunity, while also quadrupling the size of its Ethics and Compliance team.
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