Response To Public Microsoft Staff Sexual Harassment Emails

TheGamer

E-Mails From Microsoft Staff Involving Sexual Harassment Have Become Public, Chief Of People Officer Promises To “Do Better”

By Josh Coulson

Published Apr 9, 2019

An e-mail chain revealing that a number of female employees at Microsoft have been sexually harassed has forced the company to take action.

via theverge.com

An e-mail chain revealing that a number of female employees at Microsoft have been sexually harassed has understandably forced the company to take action.

Being almost a fifth of the way through the 21st century, you would have thought that sexual harassment would be a thing of the past. Sadly, it's not. There are still people out there who think it is okay to treat people differently due to their gender. One place where it seems to continue to be a pressing issue is in the workplace.

One place we wouldn't have been expecting this sort of behavior to be exhibited is somewhere like Microsoft. However, an email chain circulating through many of its departments has revealed otherwise. The aim of the email was to discover how much of an issue sexual harassment is at Microsoft. Turns out, it's pretty bad.

The email revealed that a worryingly large number of women across a number of different departments had been victims of sexual harassment and being treated unequally, reports Game Informer. Many reported being paid less than their male counterparts, all but one working with Xbox had been called a b***h at work, and one woman even wrote that she was told to sit on someone's lap in front of HR.

While a lot of the blame for these actions is being aimed at Xbox, one employee wanted to make it clear that it's an issue throughout all of Microsoft. "The other eng orgs where my experiences happened were Windows & Azure. This is a Microsoft thing, a common one," they explained. Microsoft's chief people officer, Kathleen Hogan, has assured people that actions are being taken following the revelation of the allegations.

"It is very painful to hear these stories and to know that anyone is facing such behavior at Microsoft. We must do better," Hogan said. She also revealed that she has set up meetings to discuss what's next in this saga with Microsoft's CEO and Chief Diversity Officer. Although the lack of specifics on what the company will be doing next is probably a little frustrating for those involved, it is at least comforting to know that something is being done.