Blizzard Hires a Head of Culture Amid Controversy

pcmag.com:

Blizzard has brought on its first Head of Culture, Jessica Martinez, in a move that almost certainly has to involve what California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) described as a "frat boy" culture when it filed a lawsuit against the company in July 2021.

DFEH said Activision Blizzard "allegedly fostered a sexist culture and paid women less than men despite women doing substantially similar work, assigned women to lower level jobs and promoted them at slower rates than men, and fired or forced women to quit at higher frequencies than men." The suit also described the "constant sexual harassment" of female employees.

Activision Blizzard was also sued by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for "subjecting employees, individuals, or a group of individuals to sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, and/or related retaliation" in September 2021. The company announced in March that it would pay $18 million to former employees to settle that lawsuit.

But those lawsuits—and the company's responses to them—are focused on past behavior. Now it's up to Activision Blizzard to prevent similar abuses from happening in the future. That's where Martinez, who Blizzard hired after a 14-year stint at the Walt Disney Company, comes in.

"This comes as part of our ongoing initiative to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace culture where people at every level can learn, grow, and bring their most creative selves to their work," Blizzard says. Martinez will "lead the learning and development team, while working closely with communications, events, and each of the franchise and functional leaders."

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