PlayStation Hit With Gender Discrimination Lawsuit

Sony is contending with a lawsuit claiming that a former PlayStation employee suffered gender discrimination and wrongful termination when she spoke up about her experiences. 

This is not a fantastic look for Sony following the statement it issued on the controversial events at Activision. Jim Ryan said that the team contacted the Call of Duty publisher “immediately” in order to assess what the company was doing to uproot the cause and improve in the future. Ultimately, Ryan concluded from the discussions that Activision "has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment” whereas the publisher countered that Sony’s statement “presents a misleading view of Activision Blizzard and our CEO.” 

In this lawsuit, former IT security analyst Emma Majo is inviting other women who work or worked at Sony to share their stores and expand the legal action into a class action suit (cheers, Axios). Majo alleges that the company “discriminates against female employees, including those who are female and those who identify as female, in compensation and promotion and subjects them to a work culture predominated by men.” As a result, it is breaching the United States’ Equal Pay Act in a way that has been similarly described in the lawsuits against Activision. 

Sony

Worryingly, she recalls how her manager would only respond to communications from men, she would be ignored in opportunities for promotions, and she saw this happen to other women who were hard-working and didn’t receive recognition for their efforts. Majo continues to say that she was let go after she brought her complaints to the company. In response, Sony claims that she was terminated as a consequence of the closure of an internal department, but Majo says she wasn’t a part of that department. 

The lawsuit mentions that Sony is proud to say that nearly half of all PlayStation 4 and 5 owners are women yet the gender representation of the company’s executive committee does not reflect that (according to a report from 2020). As well as an all male committee, Majo adds that Sony “tolerates and cultivates a work environment that discriminates against female employees.” And, apparently Sony’s higher ups do not offer “sufficient oversight or safety measures to protect against intentional and overt discrimination.” 

Majo, along with any other women who choose to share their stories, aims to “secure adequate relief” for the “lost compensation, back pay, employment benefits, and emotional distress.” At the time of writing, Sony has not officially responded to the suit.

Topics: PlayStation