Riot Games has been under fire for a while now due to sexual harassment and discrimination in the company. The employees have had enough and are planning a walkout. Xaafira, one of the organizers of the walkout posted on Reddit and talked about how she started working at Riot Games. She mentioned that she would keep on fighting for women in the industry so that they get the recognition that they deserve and that they feel safe.
Another Reddit user posted her experience under the same post and mentioned how she was going to get a job at Riot Games because of how she looked and that the hiring officer had heard that she had posted her nudes online. She shared the messages that she received from the person trying to hire her at Riot Games and they are as follows:
Just had to say it because you posted the Nidalee pics again, that body is absolutely impeccable. Beauty, brilliance, and witty, easiest hire I ever made. I had to fight to hire you because there was a rumor you had posted nude pics on some site. (I have to admit, I tried like hell to find them).
The Reddit user mentioned that she was offered the job straight out of college but the position was retracted 48 hours before she was supposed to join. She also mentioned that even though not getting hired by Riot Games did delay her entry into the industry it turned out to be a great step at the end. Now she is in a position where she can stand up for herself if the same kind of thing happens again.
Xaafira is doing some incredible work to support such women in the industry and she has shared her experience at Riot Games. I think you should all read what she has to say. A part of her post is as follows:
I was 26 when I started working at Riot Games. This job was everything to me; writing for my favorite video game of all time. In my first week I received a lot of attention – I was new, shiny. My knowledge of League to whether I actually played ranked to I don’t look like a gamer was brought up. I am passionate and too eager or aggressive and problem-solve too quickly. But, I’m not the only one.
Be sure to read the rest of her story on Reddit. The fact that this woman got such strange messages when she was just out of college is disgusting. I cannot believe that such a massive studio would behave like this even if it was years ago.
Another Reddit user shared her experience and mentioned that during an interview she was grilled for not being a “real gamer”. The following is what she reported:
Two years ago I interviewed with Riot. I was completely put off by the whole thing because the person interviewing me would not stop grilling me about whether or not I was a “real” gamer. We talked little about my experience or my qualifications for the role, but instead focused on whether or not I was a serious because I mostly play World of Warcraft these days.
Let us know what you think about Riot Games and the sexist environment that it is plagued with and what you think the developers working there should do now.
