Activision Blizzard has found no evidence of systemic gender-based misconduct at Activision Blizzard, or that Activision Blizzard management "intentionally ignored or attempted to downplay" incidents of harassment at Activision Blizzard when they occurred.
The conclusion was shared by the company's board of directors in a June 16 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It begins by stating that "the allegations in media and legal filings about our company were as distressing to us as they were to all of you," and obliquely acknowledges that there have been some instances of workplace misconduct. The filing also says, however, that individual experience does not necessarily reflect the larger picture, and points at "progressively stronger, more decisive and coordinated steps" it has taken, including leadership changes, to address shortcomings and better reflect the diversity of its audience.
And yet, the company says that "contrary to many of the allegations," 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."
The filing also states that media criticism of the company's executives was found to be "without merit," and that "while there are some substantiated instances of gender harassment," there's no evidence that harassment, discrimination, or retaliation were ever "a systemic issue" at Activision Blizzard.
Parallel to this investigation, Activision Blizzard said it had former US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chairman Gilbert Casellas review data on "investigated reports of gender harassment" in the US between September 1, 2016 and December 31, 2021. Based on his review, Casellas said that there is no widespread or systemic harassment at Activision Blizzard, and claims that the level of misconduct experienced by employees is "comparatively low" for a company of that size.
From there, the filing lists individual changes Activision Blizzard has made in recent years to improve conditions for employees, such as increasing the size of its Ethics and Compliance team, investing in more training, improving transparency on diversity and pay, and implementing new drug and alcohol policies for company events. But then it swerves into a frankly bizarre bit of self-defense, pointing the finger at "the media" as the real cause of its problems.
"It must be said that the Company has been subject 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 behavior and were disciplined for it," the filing says.
"Much of this originated with the highly inflammatory, made-for-press allegations of the DFEH. As our outside advisors made clear, the DFEH was not assigned to investigate harassment in its agreement with the EEOC, nor did it in fact complete an investigation into issues of harassment at Activision Blizzard."
California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing approved the EEOC settlement in March; the DFEH lawsuit is scheduled to begin in February 2023
The DFEH lawsuit sparked deeper investigations into Activision Blizzard that led to more specific allegations of misconduct, including that CEO Bobby Kotick had filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that Kotick entered into the acquisition deal with Microsoft in part to "escape liability" for overseeing the company during the reported incidents of abuse.
In January, we spoke to three women who formerly worked at Blizzard, one of whom said it was company morale.
"Allegations in the media and legal filings..." Anytime allegations is used, despite the overwhelming evidence, it's a flowery way of saying "we refuse to take ownership of the real damage that occurred on our watch"[Trigger Warning ahead - abuse/harassment/rape] pic.twitter.com/lW7CoA7PBgJune 16, 2022
In a strongly worded response to the filing, the ABK Workers Alliance employee advocacy group said in a lengthy Twitter thread that the company's statement "continues to be as tone deaf and hand-waving as every other 'effort' thus far."
"While yes, the company has been more diverse and ive, it's because of the ionate individuals on the ground level that care about fostering change, not the leadership," the group tweeted. "Also, do not forget the company's silence on issues of abortion, bodily autonomy, transgender rights and the list goes on and on. Each time something makes the news, employees call upon leadership to make a statement to affirm their own words. Silence is almost always the answer."
