Discrimination

The management philosophy known as DEI, which had gathered momentum since 2020, has been under siege over the past year because of a collision of legal, economic and geopolitical forces. The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in colleges, removing the legal rationale buttressing many diversity programs. An expected slowdown in the economy prompted companies to cut jobs and financial support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. And the Israel-Hamas war and college presidents’ responses to antisemitism…

If you’ve worried that candidate-screening algorithms could be standing between you and your dream job, reading Hilke Schellmann’s The Algorithm won’t ease your mind. The investigative reporter and NYU journalism professor’s new book demystifies how HR departments use automation software that not only propagate bias, but fail at the thing they claim to do: find the best candidate for the job.Schellmann posed as a prospective job hunter to test some of this software, which ranges from résumé screeners and video-game-based…

Activision Blizzard and a California regulator filed a legal settlement in which the videogame company agreed to pay to resolve gender discrimination charges while the state withdrew sexual-harassment claims.The settlement between Activision and the California Civil Rights Department, if approved by a judge, would end a legal battle that helped lead to the videogame company’s sale to Microsoft. Settlement documents that both sides said were filed in California Superior Court confirm an agreement from last week.Copyright ©…

“Dr. Holt, I need you to come listen to one of my second graders. This is one of my best students, but I’m worried I might be overlooking a speech or language disorder—I’m just not sure,” the teacher asked me. I visited her second-grade classroom and listened to the student say, “The mama bird, she jus’ rub’ her body on the baby in the nes’ ’cause it was col’.”This child was Black and was using African American English. To many people in the U.S., including many educators and trained speech-language pathologists, the…

California’s Civil Rights Department reached a settlement with Activision Blizzard late last week two years after the state regulator brought a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination, pay inequities and a culture of sexual harassment at the video game company. Activision Blizzard, which publishes hit games like the Call of Duty franchise and World of Warcraft, agreed to pay $54 million and committed to implementing measures to ensure fair pay and equitable promotions. Roughly $46 million of the funds will go to…

More than 50 years ago my parents took a big chance. They fell in love, got married and had three daughters, not knowing that they both carried the genetic trait for sickle cell disease.When I first started my career in emergency medicine 28 years ago, the main treatments for this disease were intravenous fluids, oxygen and a powerful narcotic used to manage the pain of sickle cell. With the Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of two treatments for sickle cell that use the gene-editing technology CRISPR, people…

Following allegations of workplace discrimination at Activision Blizzard, the gaming giant has agreed to pay just under $55 million. The settlement with the California Civil Rights Department is still subject to court approval. The terms of the settlement make “women who worked for the company between Oct. 12, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2020, either as hires or independent contractors” eligible for compensation. Under the agreement, the company will also “take additional steps to help ensure fair pay and promotion…

Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay about $54 million to settle discrimination claims brought by California's civil rights agency on behalf of women employed by the video game maker.The settlement, which is subject to court approval, resolves allegations that the maker of Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft and other video games "discriminated against women at the company, including denying promotion opportunities and paying them less than men for doing substantially similar work," the California Civil Rights…

California's Civil Rights Department (CRD) has announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with Activision Blizzard for a case it filed in 2021, accusing the company of systemic gender discrimination and fostering a culture that encouraged rampant misogyny and sexual harassment. The agency, which sued the developer when it was still called the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, said Activision Blizzard will have to pay $54 million to settle its allegations. Out of the total, $45.75 million will…

Activision Blizzard will pay roughly $50 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit by a California regulator that alleged the videogame maker discriminated against women employees, including denying them promotion opportunities and underpaying them.California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) had sued the "Call of Duty" maker after two years of investigation over allegations that it routinely underpaid and failed to promote female employees and condoned sexual harassment.Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill…