PlayStation is facing a gender discrimination and harassment lawsuit
Former employee alleges she was dismissed “soon after” complaining about gender bias
A former Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) employee is suing the company for alleged gender discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination.
As spotted by Axios, former PlayStation IT security analyst Emma Majo filed the lawsuit against SIE in California on November 22.
It claims that “Sony tolerates and cultivates a work environment that discriminates against female employees” who “are subjected to continuing unlawful disparate treatment in pay and work opportunities”.
Majo alleges that “Sony’s discriminatory employment policies, practices, and procedures are not unique or limited to any location; rather, they apply uniformly and systematically to employees throughout Sony, occurring as a pattern and practice throughout all locations”.
The plaintiff has requested court approval to expand the lawsuit into a class action on behalf of all females employed by SIE in California over the past four years.
She claims her superiors blocked any chance of career progression during the half decade she spent at Sony, and that she was dismissed earlier this year “soon after” submitting a complaint to the company about gender bias.
According to Majo, Sony said her termination was a result of the closure of a department she worked in, but she claims she wasn’t even a member of the department in question.
After suffering “financial loss, as well as non-economic damages” including extreme and severe mental anguish and emotional distress” because of Sony’s actions, the suit alleges that Majo and the potential class members are “entitled to general compensatory damages in amounts to be proven at trial”.
Related
PlayStation’s Jim Ryan says he’s ‘stunned’ in email criticising Activision’s Bobby Kotick response
Last week, a Wall Street Journal report alleged that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of multiple sexual misconduct allegations at the company and also accused him of personally mistreating several female employees.
In response, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan reportedly told SIE employees that he was “disheartened and frankly stunned to read” that the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft publisher “has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment”.
