Written by Anette Staloy, co-founder of Women in Games Norway and Chief Marketing Officer at Dirtybit, and Tiffany Keller, Director of Product at Sybo and mentor at Game Changers. These views are their own and do not represent those of their employers.

Last week was all about the news on the State of California’s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard over allegations of sexual harassment. The details in the case documents are horrific, devastating, and difficult to read. However, after 20 years working in tech, I have to admit that there are few surprising details in the descriptions. What surprises me though, is that there are still people in leading positions in the games industry saying that they didn’t know that the problem was this big, that they were unaware of the severity of what is going on. 

What was positive about the dark moment is how the games industry came together and showed support. The next step nevertheless is to take concrete action. 

#1 Acknowledge the problem and your own role in solving it 

Harassment is (and has been for a long time) a HUGE problem. No matter how uncomfortable it is to read and listen to the stories and lawsuit documents, you need to read, you need to listen, and you need to acknowledge the problem. 

Don't assume that harassment and problematic behavior won't happen in your company. Harassment comes in many forms and occurs not only from managers and co-workers but also from clients, vendors, business partners, and players. Educate yourself, and don't assume that people understand what behavior is ok and what is not, even if your employees are your friends.

During my career, there have been several occasions where, in retrospect, I know that I could have raised my voice louder, could have confronted people and called out bad behavior. I acknowledge contributing to the problem because I didn’t feel comfortable speaking out.  At the same time, it should not always be up to the minority to police, so having male allies taking responsibility and standing up in some of these circumstances makes a big difference. 

This isn’t a “Not All Men” moment: don’t make it about yourself. Every time someone speaks out, people get offended and defensive, needing to state that “not all men” are like this. It’s an easy excuse to say “it was a different time back then”. We know that as culture evolves, so do our standards, but commitment needs to start with owning up to our complicit roles in past inequality. Keep the attention to the real problem to gain buy-in from your minority employees that you are a real ally who will put their words of support into action. 

#2 Form Code of Conduct and anti-harassment policies 

As a CEO or leader in a company, even for smaller startups, you need to create a code of conduct and an anti-harassment policy. Don't blame not having these policies on being a small company or not having an HR department. Challenge existing policies if they are hidden in a drawer and not being followed upon.

It’s easy to find helpful resources to get you started, like this library of resources from IGDA. Finnish games industry organizations, including We in Games Finland and Neogames Finland, have established a harassment Task Force with guidelines and an example of a code of conduct. Several organizations provide guidance. Utilize these resources, however, make sure to make the policies your own, go through them with all your staff, and have everyone confirm in writing that they have read and understood them. Don’t just copy a policy and say, “Hey, we’re good”.  

Describe in your policies how you expect people to behave. Make it short and clear. If you need to conduct extensive training sessions for people to read and understand it, you need to start over. Add examples of what type of behavior that’s not accepted in your company, what type of punishment that behavior results in, and most importantly: publicly enforce your policies. Explain what the reporting procedure is, define whom they can talk with and if there is anonymity. Train the people receiving such reports on how to meet the reporter, listen, support, and what actions to take. 

Keep in mind that having these policies in place does not mean that harassment won’t happen. As we have learned from all the stories and lawsuits, having policies in place has in many cases not been good enough to protect people.

Most importantly, what you do is who you are. If you choose to look the other way or fix a problem with an NDA and an exit-check, that will be the company culture. Your company culture will follow the rule that you can do bad things, and if you’re a top performer or an executive, the company will fix them for you. 

#3 Bridge the gap from Code of Conduct to culture

While your Code of Conduct and Anti Harassment Policy are essentially your company “law” that must be punitively enforced, it outlines the bare minimum of behavioral expectations. If you cross that code, you will be punished or discharged by the administration. Your company culture, on the other hand, is more implicit and is positively enforced by enough employees that it becomes a norm. You are “rewarded” for following company culture with a sense of belonging and higher career trajectory as you gain credibility. Where most companies fail in equitable practices is not bridging the gap from policy to culture.

To create an equitable environment you need to do more than prevent lawsuits or harassment. Recognize that minorities often enter the industry with less connections and less role models who look like them, and may need support in forming those mentorship connections. This can be done in a couple of ways, with the most successful companies hosting all of these diversity boosters:

Role Models as talent magnets

• What does your C-suite look like? Having a diverse leadership team in terms of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and neurodivergence will help you attract talent of all types who want to make sure they join a company that won’t hold them back for being different.

Mentorship and continued learning programs

• If you want great talent without paying the 95th percentile of salaries, you need to grow that talent from within. After you attract diverse talent with your role models, create a support structure to help them form connections and any knowledge gaps they may have covered so they can shine.

Empowered Employee Resource Groups for minorities and allies

• After we accept the fact that it can be alienating to work in a place where you have low representation, we can understand the need for groups that create a safe space to voice roadblocks and celebrate differences. The trick with resource groups is to not use them for company branding and party planning, but to give them a real voice in helping guide company policy and brainstorming supports that are not currently in place. It’s free feedback for HR to lean on!

Flexible hours and free volunteer days

• After you have the diverse talent and all the support for them to succeed, remember that minorities have a much higher likelihood of needing flexibility such as working from home or a few hours change in start/end times. If you find a rockstar, making these alterations is very worth it as the top 20% of employees will form 60% of the productivity of a company! 

• Giving employees time for volunteering will not just help your local communities, but will also build empathy among your non-minority employees with those whose lives look different from theirs- building empathy into your core culture.

#4 Raise the bar for your partners as well

Set requirements for your business partners to have proper policies and routines in place. If you are an investor, make it a requirement that your portfolio companies take this topic seriously and implement code of conduct policies. Challenge industry event organizers to have policies in place and see that they commit to making the events safe for everyone. 

We’re far past the early phases of the industry where games were made and played by “gamers”. In fact, games have been mainstream for years. Just look at the graph below. And to better cater to this ever growing diverse global player base we need to have inclusive companies with a diverse pool of talent.  

Again, please read the stories, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Keep in mind that many stories will probably never be told - as it can be too difficult, too painful, or even too dangerous for people to speak out. Make it safe to speak out: listen and support people rather than questioning their stories and experiences. This is not an attack on men- there are many excellent male allies out there doing their part to support and mentor diverse talent. As women make up the majority of gamers today, it pays to be an ally, or eventually, you will be left behind.

A closing quote from Zoë Curnoe, Co-Founder of Timbre Games, from her post “The Games Industry is Broken”: 

“YOU need to stop this behavior. Not the women, not the many marginalized folks doing battle every day. YOU need to be the ones to call out the behavior when it happens, change the broken corporate processes that enable it and stop with the doctored PR statements. YOU need to listen to the women on your teams. They have been telling you this is happening for years, but you haven't heard them. Put YOUR butt on the line. We’ve done enough work, it’s your turn now.”

To further educate yourself, please check out the following podcasts we recorded with some of the top thinkers in our industry.

We sat down with Angela Roseboro, Chief Diversity Officer at Riot to discuss how the company has evolved following the sexism scandals in 2018.

This is by far the top 5 podcast I've ever done. Angela’s approach to building a culture is second to none.

If you could listen to only on of our podcast episodes, this would be it!

Deconstructing Sexism in the Gaming Industry

This topic was probably the most difficult and definitely most sensitive we've tackled on Deconstructor of Fun podcast. Huge thanks to the powerful ladies from Supercell who didn't shy away from discussing this sensitive topic shaping our industry and who are on the forefront of not only game development but also improving the industry as a whole.