Microsoft And Xbox Investigating Claims of Sexual Harassment

Following a report from QZ, via Thurrott, Microsoft and Xbox are investigating claims of sexual harassment.

Following a report from QZ, via Thurrott, Microsoft and Xbox are investigating claims of sexual harassment. The report is based on an “email chain withing Microsoft” where “women have shared stories of sexual harassment and discrimination, gaining notice from the company’s senior leadership team.”

Documentation consists of “more than 90 pages of emails,” which started March 20, precisely when “one employee asked other women at the company for advice on how to move up in the organization, after six years in the same position.”

“Dozens of women then shared their own frustrations about discrimination and sexual harassment, detailing allegations ranging from sexist comments during work trips to being told to sit on a coworker’s lap in front of a human resources leader.”

Another woman said that she had been called a “bitch” at work more than once, and discovered that this way of dealing with women is something recurring in the company.

“We did a roundtables with the women when I was in Xbox core [team] & every woman, except for 1, had been called a bitch at work,” the Microsoft employee wrote.

“Before people say this is just an Xbox thing (as I’ve heard that dismissiveness way too many times within Microsoft before) the other eng [engineering] orgs where my experiences happened were Windows & Azure. This is a Microsoft thing, a common one.”

Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s head of human resources, replied on March 29.

She said she had raised the matter in front of the senior leadership team and will be back with more news on that soon.

“I discussed this thread with the [senior leadership team] today. We are appalled and sad to hear about these experiences. It is very painful to hear these stories and to know that anyone is facing such behavior at Microsoft. We must do better.

I would like to offer to anyone who has had such demeaning experiences including those who felt were dismissed by management or HR to email me directly. I will personally look into the situation with my team.”

This report comes shortly after Kotaku’s about BioWare, which has led general manager Casey Hudson to address the matter both in public and private with its staff.

Hopefully, we’ll have more, and better, news on that soon.