A delegation of 30 Activision Blizzard employees — dressed in prideful Shanghai Dragons jerseys and World of Warcraft shirts — marched down Laguna Canyon Road just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday. They met with a similarly sized group at the main entrance of Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, California, and the number continued to grow as the day progressed.
They were there to protest their company’s response to a lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employments and Housing. A sexist culture had allegedly been festering within Activision-Blizzard, and these workers were ready to start a movement against it.
“We have a ‘rockstar’ culture where if you’re good enough, bad behavior gets waved off,” one protestor said. “We’re tired of that.”
The lawsuit alleges that Activision Blizzard’s fostered a culture of sexism and discrimination where women were subject to “cube crawls” where men could play games at various desks. They often devolved into drunken walks filled with inappropriate sexual remarks. An investigation found that Activision Blizzard discriminated against women when hiring and promoting as well.
Hundreds protest at the Activision Blizzard walkout
The crowd blossomed into a group of more than 500 protestors, with some coming from all over Southern California, to share their voice via signs and chants. The Blizzard offices are still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic with only a few employees working onsite. Everyone at the walkout came from Carson, Los Angeles and elsewhere in the region. It was the first time several visited the office after being hired within the last year.
The crowd filled the sidewalk off Laguna Canyon Road, hugging the grass-lined fences around the Blizzard campus. The organized protest had multiple stations, food and water for anyone present, a dog sitting area, hundreds of voices sounding off in unison and heart shaped signs with messages hung between the trees.
According to an anonymous Blizzard employee, the lawsuit and resulting walk out created a duality of consequences. While it offered validation for bad experiences and provided a connection to certain others at the company, there was an external effect, too.
“There are other voices like mine. My experience is not particular to me alone,” the employee said. “On the other side is education for those who have not been privy to this behavior.”
