Last November, Former IT Security Analyst Emma Majo filed a gender discrimination suit against PlayStation. This was not only for her wrongful termination over complaining about sexism in the workplace but also on behalf of all women that have ever worked for the company. Yesterday, as reported by Axios, Majo added eight statements to the suit, seven from women who are ex-PlayStation employees and one who still works at the company.
Sony denied Majo’s claims last year, citing that a lack of specific facts harmed the credibility of her suit. These new statements detail behaviors across a range of US PlayStation offices, including a lack of attention to their work or ideas, unwanted advances, a sense that it was harder for women to be promoted, and demeaning comments.
Former Program Manager Kara Johnson wrote that “I believe Sony is not equipped to appropriately handle toxic environments.” In her statement, she included an email that she sent to staff when she left in January, showing the repeated attempts she’d made to inform her superiors of gender bias in the workplace.
The inclusion of these statements adds credence to Majo’s initial suit. Moreover, it provides the specific facts that Sony’s lawyers said the case lacked last year, meaning the company’s efforts to have it thrown out of court will be hindered, if not stalled entirely.
Sony has declined to comment on the new statements thus far, but the company’s lawyers will likely do some at some point in the future. Unfortunately, this is far from the first time employees have taken games companies to court over discrimination in the workplace, with Riot Games paying out $100 million in a gender-discrimination lawsuit in December last year.
Published: Mar 10, 2022 02:41 am