Pokemon Go Developer Accused Of Fostering Sexist, Racist "Boys Club" Work Culture
Niantic has been accused of creating a "toxic boys club" work culture that actively discriminates against female employees. Women of colour are particularly discriminated against, according to one anonymous worker, who claims she was paid less than white male employees with lower job titles and fewer responsibilities.
These allegations have come to light in a lawsuit brought on by one of the workers in question, on behalf of other women at Niantic. In her three years at the company, the worker known only as Jane Doe says higher-ups didn't "tolerate discussion or dissent about equity, equal pay issues, or sexism". Doe even claims that she was outright told that speaking out about workplace sexism could put her job at risk, explaining that such behaviour had "impacted" her performance reviews in the past.
Related: Niantic's Employees Shouldn't Have To Pay The Price For Poor Management
The lawsuit makes numerous specific complaints, citing different incidents and remarks, and even referring to some departments and members of management by name. For example, Doe says that the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Director and Principal People Partner threatened her position at Niantic if she continued to complain about gender and racial discrimination at the company.
In another incident, it's claimed that Niantic’s chief marketing officer, Mike Quigley, personally intervened to stop women at the Pokemon Go developer from organising. This is said to have happened when some women sent out a survey on working conditions within Niantic, with the results revealing that many of them felt they were discriminated against. Quigley allegedly responded by forcing the women to remove any answers about sexism from a planned presentation,
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