New Delhi: More women at Sony have accused the company's PlayStation arm of sexism, thus, intensifying the lawsuit against the gaming major. Eight more women have added their accounts of sexist treatment at Sony PlayStation and have joined the ongoing suit, the media has reported.
These women employees have added their accounts to a class-action lawsuit against Sony PlayStation that describes a range of behaviours across multiple offices of the gaming giant in the US. According to a report published in Axios, the behaviours include demeaning comments, unwelcome advances, a lack of attention paid to their work or ideas and most frequently, a sense that it was harder for women to be promoted in the company.
Marie Harrington, a veteran of Sony Online Entertainment and Sony PlayStation for more than 16 years, cited a lack of women considered for senior roles during “calibration sessions.” During one session, she said, only four women were considered for promotions, compared to nearly 70 men. She described hearing comments about female candidates’ family lives that weren’t made about male candidates, the Axios report added.
Earlier in November 2021, ex-PlayStation IT security analyst Emma Majo had filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that it discriminated against women at an institutional level. She had also alleged that she was terminated because she stood against the gender bias at the studio.
The lawsuit against Sony PlayStation for alleged sexism isn't new. Several major video game studios such as Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft and Riot Games are also facing a lawsuit and investigations into claims of institutional sexism, sexual harassment and gender discrimination. According to a report by Engadget, Riot Games paid $100 million in December 2021 towards settling a class-action lawsuit over workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.