Activision Blizzard’s shareholders recently penned a letter demanding major changes to the company, after the most recent lawsuit. We’ve seen a wealth of responses to the Blizzard lawsuit, from people stepping down, and more employees speaking about their experiences, here and in other companies. We’re still waiting to hear the results of the lawsuit, and whether or not the shareholders of Activision Blizzard will file their own lawsuit. What the shareholders did do is pen a letter to Activision Blizzard post lawsuit, demanding serious changes. 

This letter from the Activision Blizzard shareholders comes courtesy of Megan Farokmanesh on Twitter. This open letter was filed by the SOC Investment group, which took Activision Blizzard to task for their lack of response to the history of sexual harassment at the company. In particular, they point out that CEO Bobby Kotick hasn’t made real, effective changes to “address the deep and widespread issues with equity, inclusion, and human capital management.” 

The shareholders aren’t wrong, either. After the lawsuit became public, we heard responses like playing the lawsuit down, calling it “Tone Deaf”, or even outright false. In the open letter, Kotick is accused of not going far enough to address the problems, and even pointed out the problem with Wilmer Hale being the law firm reviewing Activision Blizzard:

“The announced review by Wilmer Hale is deficient in a number of ways: this firm has a sterling reputation as a defender of the wealthy and connected, but it has no track record of uncovering wrongdoing, the lead investigator does not have in-depth experience investigating workplace harassment and abuse, and the scope of the investigation fails to address the full range of equity issues Mr. Kotick acknowledges.”

So it sounds like Blizzard just wanted to hire a group they had contacts with and would side with Activision Blizzard. After the lawsuit, the Activision Blizzard shareholders continued to say that they wanted some major changes going forward. 

Among these changes are to “increase board diversity and equity by adding a woman director – preferably one with a history of advocacy for marginalized people and communities,” and this needs to be done by the end of 2021. They also want gender balance on the board by 2025, including a representative of the employees (selected by current employees). 

These are serious, important demands that would show actual change at Activision Blizzard, instead of simply “saying” they will change. For executives who were found to have engaged in or enabled abusive behavior, they should receive no bonuses for 2021 and make bonus awards as a whole contingent on fulfilling clearly articulated, independently verified milestones for both equity and diversity. Frankly, those executives should be fired for those infractions, but it’s a start. 

There should also be a company-wide Equity Review, similar to what we’d see in a Racial Equity Review that other major companies undergo. It will encompass a full range of concerns in the company that was articulated by Bobby Kotick, the Activision Blizzard employees, and customers. Ultimately, this letter addresses a number of concerns to stop the frat-boy culture at Activision Blizzard, and help stop the trend of abuse the employees undergo. Time will tell if these changes get actively pursued in the company, but it is our hope that they do.