It seems like just last week that PlayStation’s Jim Ryan weighed in on the controversy surrounding Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, but according to a recently-filed lawsuit Sony might not have the cleanest hands in the industry itself. The new lawsuit alleges that the company has had instances of workplace discrimination against its female employees.
Axios’ Stephen Totilo reported today that a former PlayStation employee is seeking approval for a class-action lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit, filed by former IT security analyst Emma Majo, details claims that PlayStation employees who were female or identified as female were “not compensated equally” to male employees in similar roles or performing similar work, and were denied promotions. It also digs into the broader failings of the company in terms of its diversity, such as its Executive Committee being comprised entirely of men.
Later on in the document, Majo details her own experiences at the company, including being repeatedly passed over for promotion and her interactions with manager Yu Sugita, who “will not be alone in a room with a female with the door closed” and would reportedly only speak to male colleagues. This culminates in a claim of wrongful dismissal following the submission of a signed statement detailing the examples of gender bias she experienced at Sony.
At the time of writing Sony has not yet responded to these allegations, but it will certainly be interesting to see how the company responds, particularly in the wake of the ongoing Activision Blizzard scandal.
