Sexism | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Mon, 06 May 2019 18:05:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Sexism | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Riot Games employees prepare to walk out today in protest https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/riot-games-employees-prepare-to-walk-out-today-in-protest/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/riot-games-employees-prepare-to-walk-out-today-in-protest/#respond Mon, 06 May 2019 16:10:56 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=412426 Over the last year, there has been a lot of talk surrounding Riot Games and its internal practices. Allegations of sexism came to light in 2018, which eventually led to several lawsuits, alongside promises from Riot to make management changes. At this point in time, there are five on-going lawsuits against Riot Games for breaching …

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Over the last year, there has been a lot of talk surrounding Riot Games and its internal practices. Allegations of sexism came to light in 2018, which eventually led to several lawsuits, alongside promises from Riot to make management changes. At this point in time, there are five on-going lawsuits against Riot Games for breaching the California Equal Pay Act. Riot attempted to block two of these lawsuits citing a clause in employee contracts. This only added fuel to the fire and now, Riot Games employees are set to stage a ‘walk out' in protest today.

The walk out is tied to Riot employees being unhappy with the studio's leadership and their actions following last year's allegations. Recently, the company's lawyers filed motions to block two on going equal pay lawsuits, stating that the employees signed an arbitration agreement and thus, waived their rights to a jury trial. After that sparked backlash, Riot Games said that future employees would not be required to sign an arbitration agreement, but that doesn't exactly help the situation current and former studio workers are in.

As Kotaku reports, around 100 employees are expected to be participating in the walk out today. This has the knock on effect of being the first time this form of protest has been used at a major gaming studio. Aside from the way these lawsuits are being handled, one source also stated that employees are unhappy as they “haven't seen a single outcome of our diversity and inclusion efforts” in the months following the initial allegations.

After the exposé came out last year, Riot did respond by outlining a new set of company values alongside a roadmap of plans to improve. The studio also went on to hire Angela Roseboro as its first ever chief diversity officer.

While the walk out may be an embarrassing look for Riot, the company has said that it will respect the decisions of those who choose to take part today, as well as those who don't. In fact, managers will be freeing up meeting times and making some schedule changes to accommodate for the 2PM-4PM walk out window.

KitGuru Says: The Riot situation has yet to be resolved, despite the fact that it has been eight months since complaints were first publicised. Perhaps a walk out will help but we'll have to wait and see. What do you all think of the Riot situation? Is walking out in protest a good idea? 

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Riot’s COO has been suspended following misconduct investigations https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/riots-coo-has-been-suspended-following-misconduct-investigations/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/damien-cox/riots-coo-has-been-suspended-following-misconduct-investigations/#respond Fri, 14 Dec 2018 11:07:39 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=398463 Riot has been under a lot of scrutiny throughout 2018, following an exposé that highlighted discrimination in the workplace. Despite promising a “zero tolerance policy” against such behaviour, it wasn’t until dozens more victims came forward and a lawsuit reared its head that internal investigations began to produce results, now seeing chief operating officer (COO) …

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Riot has been under a lot of scrutiny throughout 2018, following an exposé that highlighted discrimination in the workplace. Despite promising a “zero tolerance policy” against such behaviour, it wasn’t until dozens more victims came forward and a lawsuit reared its head that internal investigations began to produce results, now seeing chief operating officer (COO) Scott Gelb suspended without pay.

Ongoing inquiries that have taken place across the past year have unveiled a dark side to the League of Legends developer, alleging that sexism has repeatedly cost female candidates the chance at progression while shouldering them with more responsibilities than they’re paid for. Gelb was specifically highlighted during Kotaku’s lengthy inquiries, accused of inappropriately touching colleagues and conducting questionable fraternity-like behaviour deemed unacceptable in the workplace.

Riot promised action, stating that it was “prepared to make big changes and have begun taking action against specific cases.” This saw many of the accused leave the company one way or another; however Gelb remained seemingly unscathed by repercussions. It turns out that investigations into the COO simply took longer than other employees, with CEO Nicolo Laurent informing Riot staff that Gelb has been suspended for two unpaid months and is required to attend training upon his return.

“Scott could have avoided owning his past and his consequences. He could have left Riot. Scott chose ownership and redemption,” Laurent explained. “I will root for him, will support him through this journey, and will leverage him as a great leader when he returns next year. I hope you will join me.”

Despite brushing off some claims from Kotaku and other publications as “untrue,” Laurent failed to clarify what exactly should be corrected and what Gelb has owned up to. Riot employees have deemed the “tiny slap on the wrist” as an insult to those affected by Gelb’s alleged behaviour, expressing worry at his return to a position of power within the company while wounds will still be fresh.

KitGuru Says: Clarity is difficult given that Riot is currently under pressure from a lawsuit. While reform wouldn’t make up for the harm caused by whatever actions Gelb has admitted to, we hope that the COO does manage to empathise with the struggles of his subordinates moving forward.  

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Current and former employees launch discrimination lawsuit against Riot Games https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/current-and-former-employees-launch-discrimination-lawsuit-against-riot-games/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/current-and-former-employees-launch-discrimination-lawsuit-against-riot-games/#respond Wed, 07 Nov 2018 11:04:49 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=394073 Gender-based discrimination has been the topic of many conversations regarding Riot Games, as the League of Legends developer promised a new “zero tolerance policy on discrimination, harassment, and general toxicity.” At least one current and one former employee feel that these words are hollow, taking it upon themselves to launch a class action lawsuit against …

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Gender-based discrimination has been the topic of many conversations regarding Riot Games, as the League of Legends developer promised a new “zero tolerance policy on discrimination, harassment, and general toxicity.” At least one current and one former employee feel that these words are hollow, taking it upon themselves to launch a class action lawsuit against the developer for cultivating a “men first” environment.

The legal action comes just three months after Kotaku published the findings of its investigation into Riot’s workplace, exposing a persistent sexist culture within. At the time, the developer acknowledged its shortcomings and promised that it was “committed to digging in, addressing every issue, and fixing the underlying causes.” This came to a head in September with the hiring of former Uber vice president, Frances Frei, known for her work in shaping up poor ethics in the workplace.

According to the lawsuit reported by Kotaku, little has changed since the company’s “bro culture” was revealed, suggesting that “Riot Games is simply sweeping these allegations under the rug with empty investigations and counselling, while protecting bad actors from any repercussion.” Although many identified facilitators of toxic behaviour have supposedly been purged from the company, accused perpetrator COO Scott Gelb and other senior staff still remain unaffected.

Co-founder Brandon Beck was once again highlighted for using “no doesn't necessarily mean no” as a company slogan, and Negron’s former supervisor, Geoff Chandler supposedly stated that “diversity should not be a focal point of the design of Riot Games' products because gaming culture is the last remaining safe-haven for white teen boys.” The worst accusation, however, states that “a former male employee was allowed to remain in a position of leadership despite regularly making sexual comments in the workplace and drugging and raping another Riot Games employee.”

The claim asserts that discrimination begins at the hiring process, only taking on board candidates considered “core gamers,” a phrase that often excludes women.“Because this hiring practice disproportionately favors men, many qualified women have been denied employment because they were not considered ‘core gamers.' Female applicants and employees who are outspoken are considered ‘aggressive,' ‘too ambitious,' and ‘annoying',” the suit says.

This leads the way for numerous sexist behaviours, according to the lawsuit. Not only are female employees forced to indulge in “crude male humor” about “sex, defecation, masturbation” and even “rape and torture,” they’re continually objectified in an alleged email chain titled “Riot Games Hottest Women Employees” that discussed penetration.

Plaintiff Jessica Negron states that female employees are often expected to take on duties above their pay grade without compensation, violating California’s Equal Pay Act. In particular, she fulfilled the role of her former manager for a year without the extra pay. Despite a loose promise that the position should be hers, three separate men were hired for the role instead. Once the final participant had left the role, Riot allegedly offered for her to fulfil it once again without the same title and pay her former colleagues were given.

“Like many of Riot Games’ female employees, Plaintiffs have been denied equal pay and found their careers stifled because they are women,” the lawsuit continues. “Moreover, Plaintiffs have also seen their working conditions negatively impacted because of the ongoing sexual harassment, misconduct, and bias which predominate the sexually-hostile working environment of Riot Games.”

The second plaintiff, Melanie McCracken still works at Riot Games, despite highlighting fundamental flaws with the developer’s HR department. Thinking of it as the safe haven employees should for a conflict resolution division, her complaints of sexist behaviour were leaked to the superiors it was against, leading to her being brushed aside for promotions that were supposedly a sure thing.

You can read the full lawsuit here:

KitGuru Says: There are some scathing accusations throughout the lawsuit, many of which reared their head during Kotaku's investigation. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that we will hear from Riot Games until its legal proceedings have been completed.

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Former Uber vice president joins Riot Games to clean up its discriminatory internal culture https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/former-uber-vice-president-joins-riot-games-to-clean-up-its-discriminatory-internal-culture/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/damien-cox/former-uber-vice-president-joins-riot-games-to-clean-up-its-discriminatory-internal-culture/#respond Thu, 13 Sep 2018 13:55:18 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=386708 Alongside an apology for recent revelations of discrimination, League of Legends developer Riot Games capped off August with a list of steps in order to reform its internal culture. The latest move in this effort is the hiring of leadership and strategy expert Frances Frei, who will now act as the senior advisor Riot’s executive …

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Alongside an apology for recent revelations of discrimination, League of Legends developer Riot Games capped off August with a list of steps in order to reform its internal culture. The latest move in this effort is the hiring of leadership and strategy expert Frances Frei, who will now act as the senior advisor Riot’s executive and cultural strike team.

Frei cut her teeth at Wharton School located within the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a Ph.D. in Operations and Information Management. From there, she climbed up to a senior vice president of leadership role within Uber, before taking a step back from the role while remaining as an advisor. During her time at Uber, she was credited for improving the company’s culture by inspiring inclusion despite self-admitting to her failure on bringing about “authenticity” within her TED Conference.

Naturally, Frei is a perfect fit for Riot as the developer attempts to rectify its publicly discussed discrimination. Kotaku conducted an eight-month long investigation into accusations of sexism, harassment and discrimination within Riot’s studio, revealing many of the flaws within an exposé released last month. Although fans have discussed the findings relentlessly, some in disbelief, senior staff acknowledged the problem and deemed it unacceptable and in need of change.

Riot then attempted to push towards a solution on its own, conducting female and non-binary-focused workshops during PAX West. This was met with criticism of its own, with Riot now accused of being sexist towards men. Two of its developers were subsequently fired when passionately defending the move on Twitter, cited to be in breach of Riot’s social media policy within each of their contracts. At this point, Riot realised that it needed help dealing with the situation.

After meeting with Riot’s CEO, president, COO, and co-founders, Frances begun her “intensive work” with the developer’s cultural transformation team. Riot expressed that it was “humbled” that Frei had chosen to work with the company, and that Rioters from all around the world could expect to meet her through educational and working sessions in the coming months.

“After spending time with Riot’s leadership and many others across the organization, it became clear that Riot is truly putting everything on the table and committing to evolving its culture. In my interactions with Rioters, I’ve seen extraordinary levels of engagement on these issues across the company. Every Rioter with whom I’ve met truly cares about inclusion, which means real change is possible,” Frei states.

“Riot isn’t interested simply in fixing problems on the surface, they have an ambition to be an industry leader and to provide a road map for others to follow. I share that ambition and am eager to help them navigate this process.”

KitGuru Says: Given her admitted limited success with Uber, it remains to be seen just how much change Frei can bring about for Riot Games. Given that all eyes are watching the very public debacle, there is certainly a lot of pressure on both Frei and Riot itself.

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Riot addresses criticism that its female and non-binary-focused workshops are sexist to men https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/riot-addresses-criticism-that-its-female-and-non-binary-focused-workshops-are-sexist-to-men/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/riot-addresses-criticism-that-its-female-and-non-binary-focused-workshops-are-sexist-to-men/#respond Mon, 03 Sep 2018 15:19:27 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=385544 An exposé was released in August showcasing sexist behaviour within Riot Games, prompting the studio to introduce its “zero tolerance policy” against discrimination. The developer has once again come under fire for claims towards sexism, however, as it recently held sessions dedicated to “support women and non-binary folks” in their effort to attain a career …

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An exposé was released in August showcasing sexist behaviour within Riot Games, prompting the studio to introduce its “zero tolerance policy” against discrimination. The developer has once again come under fire for claims towards sexism, however, as it recently held sessions dedicated to “support women and non-binary folks” in their effort to attain a career in the video game industry.

It’s a well-known fact that a fraction of positions in the video game industry are held by women, and even less by those identifying as non-binary, resulting in an increasing amount of discussion of how to nurture growth towards a more balanced workforce. Riot Games decided to take to PAX West to introduce two new workshops devoted to helping women and non-binary folks bolster their skills, according to Riot recruiter Mel Capperino-Garcia.

Specifically, sessions between 10am through until 2:30pm included Art + Champions/Skins Design, How to be a Producer, Narrative Writing, Production Careers, Game Design and Advanced Cosplay, not to mention the following Q&A with first-hand developers. Given that men were noticeably omitted from the comprehensive classes, many took to Reddit, Twitter and various other places to express their concern that Riot Games was actually being sexist to men that were chasing a job in the industry.

Riot has tackled the controversy head on, with a statement on its official Twitter reinforcing its stance on the matter. “To help recruit women into gaming, we held PAX workshops for women and non-binary people. We're proud of that and stand with Rioters at PAX. Regarding conversations about this, we need to emphasise that no matter how heated a discussion, we expect Rioters to act with respect.”

This was later expanded upon by Riot systems designer Daniel Z. Klein, who addressed that “men have the power. They're privileged in so many ways, from small invisible things, to large, outrageous things. Men are RIDICULOUSLY over-represented in gaming; they're listened to when women are ignored, promoted when women are passed over, lauded for speaking out when women are being called “difficult to work with.

“So yes, in the interest of justice, equality, and fairness, men need to be excluded sometimes. That's perfectly fine. Trust me, you'll have about a billion other opportunities that these women won't have. But no, you have to be absolute overgrown toddlers and throw hissy fits.”

Klein’s response to the matter has caused outrage in itself with its derogatory tone, going as far as to call those complaining “manbabies.” While this is undoubtedly unsatisfying for those bothered by the matter, Riot Games has been abundantly clear in its efforts, and will likely continue its attempts to balance out the video game industry.

KitGuru Says: It’s worth noting that these efforts do not mean that Riot would sooner choose someone solely based on their gender, forgoing the best person for the role based on their skills. This is just an attempt to give opportunities to those that have never had them before now. How do you feel about Riot’s exclusive workshops?

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Riot Games responds to exposé by promising “zero tolerance policy” against discrimination https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/riot-games-responds-to-expose-by-promising-zero-tolerance-policy-against-discrimination/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/riot-games-responds-to-expose-by-promising-zero-tolerance-policy-against-discrimination/#respond Thu, 09 Aug 2018 09:16:29 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=382490 It seems that toxicity isn’t just prevalent in League of Legends, but developer Riot Games itself as an exposé reveals a rise of discriminatory behaviour against women from within the studio. Riot has since responded to the report, apologising for its failure to “live up to its own values” while implementing a “zero tolerance policy” …

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It seems that toxicity isn’t just prevalent in League of Legends, but developer Riot Games itself as an exposé reveals a rise of discriminatory behaviour against women from within the studio. Riot has since responded to the report, apologising for its failure to “live up to its own values” while implementing a “zero tolerance policy” against general toxicity.

Kotaku launched an investigation into the developer last December, revealing on Tuesday 7th August that Riot Games was plagued with a new “bro culture” that placed women at a severe disadvantage in the workplace. Sexism begins at the hiring process, with the publication’s source, a former employee dubbed Lacy, indicating that there was always an excuse as to why women wouldn’t fit a leadership role, from “too much ego” to not being “gamer enough.”

The report shows that sexism has taken many forms, from managers remarking on the attractiveness of their employees, even going as far as to suggest that is the only reason those women have a job within Riot. Lacy conducted an experiment that resulted in damning evidence, showing the severity of the disrespect. When she pitched an idea during a board meeting, Lacy describes that it resulted in rejection, but a male colleague collaborated with her to pitch the same idea just a week later. After presenting it “exactly” as she did, his pitch was met with overwhelming praise. “They just didn’t respect women,” explains the source.

league.jpg

Although the report shows multiple people coming forward, sharing stories similar to that of Lacy’s, this isn’t a universal experience shared by all of Riot’s female employees. Still, the developer has stated that it has heard the pleas of those affected, reinforcing a “zero tolerance policy on discrimination, harassment, and general toxicity” under a new “diversity and inclusion” webpage. These values were supposedly in place long before the investigation, but officially went live in May following Kotaku’s inquiries.

“This article shines a light on areas where we haven't lived up to our own values, which will not stand at Riot. We've taken action against many of the specific instances in the article, and we're committed to digging in, addressing every issue, and fixing the underlying causes. All Rioters must be accountable for creating an environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to be heard, grow their role, advance in the organization, and fulfill their potential,” explains Riot corporate communications chief Joe Hixson to ESPN.

“To ensure our aspirational culture becomes a reality and isn’t lost in translation, we over-index on cultural reinforcement. We bake our values into company strategy, leadership attributes, and company-wide programs, systems, and processes. When we encounter any contrary behaviors, we dig in to understand, evaluate, and address. We have a zero tolerance policy on discrimination, harassment, retaliation, bullying, and general toxicity,” he concludes in a Reddit post.

KitGuru Says: Riot is just one of many companies in the video game industry suffering from the same issues of discrimination. Its response has set a precedent of how things should be handled, however, hopefully prompting more studios to follow without an official inquiry being made.

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Bigot Gamer takes a look at CoD verbal abuse https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/bigot-gamer-takes-a-look-at-cod-verbal-abuse/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/bigot-gamer-takes-a-look-at-cod-verbal-abuse/#comments Wed, 12 Mar 2014 10:05:25 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=181810 One of the staples of mic enabled, online shooters, has always been some idiot either playing a song down his permanently open mic channel, or shouting obscenities and slurs at other players for a variety of reasons. We've all played with that guy, but rarely is much done about it. Well now BigotGamer.com is showcasing some …

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One of the staples of mic enabled, online shooters, has always been some idiot either playing a song down his permanently open mic channel, or shouting obscenities and slurs at other players for a variety of reasons. We've all played with that guy, but rarely is much done about it. Well now BigotGamer.com is showcasing some of the these offenders, in a mixture of name and shame and a character study into what these players and the communities they inhabit are all about.

While trolling exists in a lot of games and there are caustic people in every walk of life, CoD does seem to have a penchant for attracting larger numbers of them. It's also often the poster child for racism, sexism and homophobia in gaming communities, though of course, this could just be a problem that emerges when something is so popular – it's going to attract assholes as well as nice guys.

But let's take a look at some of BigotGamer's evidence for ourselves. It probably goes without saying that these videos feature not safe for work (NSFW) language:

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfyHJuljsh0′] [yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01sJq5Y32y8′] [yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3r-f0-pFR0′]

One point I do have to give the guy in the last clip credit for, is that language can have different meanings. I'm not sure his meaning isn't that different from a racist's, but hey, at least he's trying to defend himself, the others don't even bother.

What's interesting here, is that the guy recording these clips does engage in smack talk, to the extent that some might accuse him of using similar – albeit far tamer – verbal jabs as his highlighted bigots. Maybe it's a case of one man's smack talk is another man's racism?

The fact that he tells them he's recording at times as well, suggests that these guys might have amped up their abuse, just because they felt like they had an audience and perhaps that's part of the reason they speak like this in the first place: because they're relatively anonymous and they have a platform to speak from. That and they have a lot of unresolved anger and need an outlet. CoD provides that to some extent, but clearly there's something more at work here, as we've seen it with ‘pro-gamers' as much as much as amateurs:

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7HbCkU_-cM']

These guys aren't quite as specifically awful with their choice of language, but the uncontrolled outbursts of angsty range just come off as embarrassing, much like those in the Bigot Gamer videos. So sure there are racists, homophobes and just generally not nice people on games like Call of Duty, but maybe what's being witnessed here is more a bunch of people that could do with going outside, maybe going for a run and getting some energy out, rather than people that are so deeply bigoted they'd call someone a racial slur over the internet.

Codgaming
When Eurogamer interviewed the above smack talker outside of the game, he seemed far more reserved, even timid and suggested it was all just to hype his team up and throw the other one off.

While the response from many people for these idiots is to simply mute them, and it's great that there's that option in these titles, many times that simple act just seems like hassle that shouldn't be required. While some see that as just a necessary part of enjoying a game as popular as CoD, or LoL, others see it as a roadblock to fun and there should be as few of those as possible if a developer does its job right. And clearly no one has gotten it right yet, as there are many people that simply don't play certain games anymore, or online multiplayer at all, because they can't be bothered to deal with idiots.

KitGuru Says: What do you guys think? Are games like Call of Duty filled with racists? Or is it a combination of popularity, mixed with a younger average audience that plays these sorts of quick fix games because they need an outlet?

And ultimately, what's the solution? Clearly these sorts of players shouldn't be scaring off those that just want to have fun without needing a lesson in smack talk first.

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Hawken CEO embraces equal sexual representation https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/hawken-ceo-embraces-equal-sexual-representation/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/hawken-ceo-embraces-equal-sexual-representation/#respond Wed, 15 May 2013 13:01:02 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=134843 Ruby Underboob and Bro-sie the Riveter now sit side by side in the lobby of Hawken publisher Meteor Entertainment, thanks to a brilliantly intuitive way of addressing sexual representation in not only the office environment, but in games too. Initially, CEO Mark Long, had a comic art inspired poster of Ruby Underboob, placed in the …

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Ruby Underboob and Bro-sie the Riveter now sit side by side in the lobby of Hawken publisher Meteor Entertainment, thanks to a brilliantly intuitive way of addressing sexual representation in not only the office environment, but in games too.

Initially, CEO Mark Long, had a comic art inspired poster of Ruby Underboob, placed in the company lobby. It features a scantily clad female, standing in-front of a Hawken mech, holding aloft a flame spouting blow torch. Her name is self explanatory.

While some no doubt enjoyed the image, one female employee at the studio did not and resolved to do something about it. She didn't complain to HR though, she didn't file a lawsuit of sexual discrimination  instead she fought fire with fire: and had her own poster made, of Bro-sie the Riveter. A man, so unperturbed by the hot oil, grease and live ammunition surrounding the mechs, that he's happy to go to work wearing nothing but a hard hat and a pair of tight fitting, slimline boxers.
hawkenposters
All the best mechanics work in the near-nude.

According to RPS report, the boss took it in good faith, despite the female employee and her anonymous helper being slightly worried after replacing Ruby with Bro-Sie in the lobby. However, instead of threatening the future of her career, it helped it. When Long eventually confronted her on it, he said:

“That was a brilliant prank. You called me on exactly the bulls**t I need to be called on. I put up pictures of half-naked girls around the office all the time and I never think about it. I’m taking you and [the artist who made the poster] to lunch. And after that, we’re going to hang both prints, side by side.”

KitGuru Says: All's well that ends well. This is a great way to highlight a bit of sexual inequality in the office and in gaming in general, without making it combative. Too often feminism comes across as anti-men, which is just the pot calling the kettle black. 

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