Content warning: this article contains reports of harassment, abuse and transphobia.
A new report details stories of transgender QA testers being harassed, ridiculed, and discriminated against at Activision Blizzard.
The latest reports are a continuation of the ongoing allegations of sexual harassment of Activision Blizzard employees, which also include transgender workers.
As reported by Kotaku, news of the latest allegations of the Activision Blizzard employee harassment come directly from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing lawsuit.
Some staff were ridiculed
It’s reported that Activision Blizzard QA testers shared stories of being deadnamed, and ridiculed. Some of the allegations were apparently reported to the HR department, but a source of Kotaku said that: “HR is aware of this issue and has supposedly been talking with others to get the issue fixed, but this has been going on for [at least] a year.”
The source also said that while some transgender employees may have been treated more fairly, some employees continually refused to use the correct pronouns. In one instance, an employee allegedly said “I identify as an attack helicopter” which is a common transphobic meme.
Reports of enforced crunch overtime
Reports also claim that some QA testers were required to work overtime, clocking as much as 70 hours a week. The reported wage was said to be around $14-$17 per hour with overtime included.
This wage can be considered to be unlivable in areas such as Southern California. The location of Activision Blizzard HQ, where everything is more expensive. QA employees are also said to have little to no benefits such as health insurance and sick leave.
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
- Mermaids – https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/
- Black Girls Code – https://www.blackgirlscode.com
- Futures without Violence – https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org
- Girls Who Code – https://girlswhocode.com
- RAINN – https://www.rainn.org
- Women In Animation – https://womeninanimation.org
- Women in Games International – https://www.getwigi.com
Featured Image Credit: Activision Blizzard