It’s been a few days since news of the lawsuit filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing first dropped. (And if you missed it, here’s the Brief. Warning: Mentions of sexual harassment, abuse, alcohol, suicide. Fucking douchebaggery.)
I was – and still am – a mix of emotions. Anger. Shock. Back to anger. Surprise. Not surprise. But at the heart of it – anger.
I’m angry that this is still a problem in this industry that I love. I’m angry that some in the industry still think it’s 1950 and women are second-rate citizens. I’m beyond angry that a woman from Activision felt forced to take her life because of the harassment she endured from colleagues – that she felt like she had no way out.
And I’m angry that I was lucky that I had (mostly) good experiences in my jobs in tech. (How messed up is that?)
Yeah, I ran into the ‘bro type’ once or twice a month who would think I knew nothing about games or technology and deride me for it. Whatever. It used to bug me at first. I cried at work way too many times, but then I started wearing it as a badge of honor. (I mean, when I was at Best Buy, less than a quarter of the sales floor was made up of women. Both times. And GameStop? The gender gap seemed to be even wider.)
Does this change my drive to work in the industry? No. If anything, it strengthens it.
And I say this unequivocally – I stand with those coming forward and sharing their truth. I believe you.
It’s fucking 2021.