Sony PlayStation accused of gender discrimination by former employee

After months of having multiple major publishers including Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, and Riot being the subject of discrimination and harassment accusations, now comes Sony Interactive Entertainment’s turn as they are facing a lawsuit of their own.

The lawsuit has been brought forward by former PlayStation employee Emma Majo, who is seeking other women who feel they’ve faced similar discrimination at the company to expend her suit into a class action.

In addition, the lawsuit against Sony describes Majo’s experience as a female employee at Sony from 2015 to 2021, claiming she was continually denied an answer about how to get a promotion and claims that she was demoted because of her inquiries.

Majo also claims that she heard managers “make gender-biased comments about female workers” that implied women are more “emotional” and “less professional” than male employees.

“Sony discriminates against female employees, including those who are female and those who identify as female, in compensation and promotion and subjects them to a work culture predominated by men,” her lawsuit alleged.

While she also alleged that other women at PlayStation struggled to get promoted at the same rate as men, Sony PlayStation did not respond to the lawsuit yet.

The lawsuit came in the midst of high-profile state and federal lawsuits against “Call of Duty” maker Activision over alleged sexual misconduct and gender-based pay disparities.

According to reports, PlayStation chief Jim Ryan sent an email to employees, condemning Activision Blizzard’s response to reports of CEO Bobby Kotick’s alleged abusive behavior and history of harassment during his 30 years at the company.

Ryan stated that he was “disheartened and frankly stunned to read” that Activision Blizzard “has not done enough to address a deep-seated culture of discrimination and harassment.” He also said that PlayStation doesn’t think Blizzard’s “statements of response properly address the situation.”

While several gaming companies are facing inquiry over their treatment of female staff, women from Los Angeles-based Riot Games filed a class-action suit alleging gender discrimination, in 2018.