Riot Games‘ $100 million settlement related to the gender discrimination lawsuit was approved last week by a California judge, and not only that but there are other conditions that Riot Games will have to adhere to.
This will be a great step toward improving the workplace environment in a primarily male-dominated industry. It will set a precedent that anyone who conducts or contributes to any sexual misconduct or gender-related biases will be penalized accordingly.
Distribution of the Settlement
The settlement from this lawsuit is to be distributed among women who have been working at Riot Games since 2014. This totals over one thousand women who will receive settlements from Riot Games. The amounts will vary anywhere from a thousand to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on their individual cases.
That is not all, Riot Games is required to hire an independent monitor who will investigate and point out any and all deviations from the salaries that the employees are being given to what they should be given.
The studio will have to fully hire 40 qualified temporary female workers as full-time employees in their respective departments.
A former employee at Riot told Axios:
“My hope is that this serves as a wake-up call for the whole industry. We’ve set a precedent that the sexist behavior that runs rampant at gaming companies is unacceptable and, when companies are unwilling to address it themselves in a meaningful way, women have options to get justice.”
The company has come out and stated that it is trying its best to weed out all of the people that take unfair advantage of their positions of power and establish a forward-thinking and inclusive work culture. A safer work environment and this lawsuit will contribute to the quality of every workplace in the entire industry. And hopefully, ensure that this lawsuit will serve as a prohibitive measure at the very least.
