Riot Games Accused Of Sexism In The Workforce By Former Employees

Riot is currently being accused of having major issues with sexism within the workforce. The news broke out in a report that Kotaku made that is nearly 8000 words long. It’s a tiring read but definitely gives you a different perspective on Riot Games so I encourage everyone to give it a readthrough. Kotaku writer Cecilia D’Anastasio anonymously interviewed 28 former Riot employees who talked in great detail about the discrimination that is going on at the company. Multiple other former Riot employees have also come forth and validated the information as well as share their own experiences.

According to the article, a serious ‘bro culture’ is present that has been likened to living in a giant fraternity. The ‘bro’ culture is apparently a fundamental part of Riot Games which is why it’s hardly addressed at all. Women also have a hard time bringing something to the discussion. If they wouldn’t push back on ideas that would not be ‘challenging conventions’, but if they pushed back on ideas they would apparently be labeled as being emotional. One former employee even describes how she denied a manager “came onto her” which subsequently led to her being fired.

D’Anastasio’s report is extremely in-depth and gives a really good view of how Riot Games truly operates, however, the accusations of female harassment don’t just stop there. If you look at reviews of the company on Glassdoor, this ‘bro culture’ has been going on for an extremely long time. There are a large number of negative reviews that describe the awful attitude that Riot Games has towards women, which is often cited as a reason that reviewers left the company.

Since the article has been released, an enormous number of current and former Riot employees have also Tweeted out in support of the article or have shared their own experience while working at the company. Most people Tweeting that they are still recovering from the anxiety-inducing time they spent at the company. The most shocking Tweet probably comes from Mini White Rabbit who tells that women would often be harassed at work, being groped at parties and sometimes even raped. She said that it was shocking but became the norm very quickly.

Hearing that such a big company as Riot has problems with sexual harassment. As a fan of League of Legends, it’s quite shocking that a company that I have looked up to and respected is corrupted from the inside. While I doubt that everyone working at Riot looks down on women, the issue is apparently big enough that it has warranted an outcry from former employees. I sincerely hope that Riot will address these problems as soon as possible as they are completely unacceptable.