Niantic sued by former worker for gender discrimination

A former Niantic worker has filed go well with in opposition to the California-based recreation studio for allegedly discriminating in opposition to its feminine staff. She accuses Niantic of fostering a “boys membership” the place feminine staff are paid much less and given much less steerage than male staff of the identical or decrease rank. In response to a report from The Verge, she’s searching for class-action standing to incorporate different staff who might have been affected.

The previous worker stays nameless, however started work for Niantic in 2020. She realized inside a 12 months of being employed that she was paid lower than a male worker regardless of having extra obligations and the next place throughout the firm. She allegedly later spoke with different feminine staff and found she was not alone on this regard, however the studio’s management reacted poorly to the problem being introduced up. “Jane Doe” was one of many staff let go in Niantic’s current layoffs.

The grievance says it’s about “systemic sexual bias at Niantic.” Niantic just isn’t the one firm about which such allegations have been made. In 2021, Activision Blizzard confronted a lawsuit from a California regulatory physique for having a tradition of sexual harassment and discrimination (additionally referred to a number of instances as a “boy’s membership” or a fraternity-like atmosphere). Riot Video games additionally this 12 months acquired ultimate approval on a settlement for the same gender discrimination lawsuit.

Niantic’s current layoffs reportedly replicate the corporate’s intention to focus extra of its efforts on Pokémon GO and the video games such because the lately launched Peridot. It introduced it’s sunsetting NBA All World and cancelling growth on Marvel: World of Heroes. The corporate laid off 230 staff throughout this restructure.