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PlayStation faces gender discrimination lawsuit in California

Former PlayStation IT analyst Emma Majo alleges that she was mistreated by superiors and then terminated after submitting complaints.

TJ Denzer

November 23, 2021 12:50 PM

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As various voices come out in the gaming industry against wrongful treatment, sexual harassment, and discrimination, PlayStation has found itself headed to court as well over alleged gender discrimination. Former PlayStation IT analyst Emma Majo has filed a lawsuit in California against PlayStation for gender discrimination and wrongful termination, and may seek to expand the suit to class-action to include further female employees mistreated at the company.

Emma Majo officially filed her lawsuit against PlayStation on November 22, 2021, in a US State District Court in northern California. The lawsuit alleges that during her tenure at PlayStation, Majo was regularly ignored by her manager, passed up for promotions, and then eventually terminated shortly after she submitted a complaint for gender bias to the company. Majo notes in her lawsuit that the reason given for her termination was that a department was being closed in the company, but Majo also alleges that she was not part of the affected department.

In the lawsuit, Majo is also making the claim that PlayStation operates against the rules of the United States’ Equal Pay Act.

The suit against PlayStation comes as various companies in the industry are entrenched in issues of discrimination and sexual harassment. Activision Blizzard has faced so many issues that many employees and investors now call on Bobby Kotick to resign as CEO. Meanwhile, groups like Riot Games and Ubisoft have also faced a number of allegations and lawsuits which have resulted in major settlements or employment termination of executive staff.

Emma Majo’s gender discrimination lawsuit against PlayStation also comes after Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan condemned Bobby Kotick’s handling of issues at Activision Blizzard. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this lawsuit for further details and updates.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.