Blizzard boss Jen Oneal was paid lower than her male colleague before resigning
Blizzard co-head Jen Oneal announced her resignation earlier this month, just three months after taking office. She said she was “inspired by the passion of everyone in the studio” and turned to a more industry-wide approach to increase diversity and inclusion. But According to the new IGN According to reports, part of her motivation is that her salary is lower than that of peer Mike Ybarra, and Blizzard is obviously unwilling to resolve this imbalance.
In a message to Blizzard employees, Ybarra said that he and Oneal told Activision Blizzard’s management that they wanted the same pay because they did the same job. He explained that their pay was different because when they were offered to lead Blizzard’s job, they signed a separate existing contract.
“I ran [Battle.net & Online Products] She ran away [Vicarious Visions] So our salary is different,” Ybarra said. “When Jen and I got a new contract for the first time, the two of us were treated the same for Blizzard’s new co-leadership role, so our salary will be the same. “
Ybarra’s explanation was apparently in response to recent allegations Wall Street Journal The report stated that shortly after Oneal assumed Blizzard’s top position, she sent an email to Activision’s legal department complaining that the company “will never prioritize our employees in the right way.” She also stated in the email that she was sexually harassed at the company, with a salary lower than Ybarra, and wanted to discuss her resignation.
Oneal disputed an element in Ybarra’s Slack message, saying in a separate chat that although they did accept Blizzard’s joint leadership work under an unequal contract, they did not immediately propose to make them equivalent: “One paragraph This has been the case since time, after we repeatedly rejected requests to change it to parity,” she wrote. In fact, it was not until Oneal offered to resign that she and Ybarra were paid equal amounts.
Oneal said she clarified this to make sure that there is no “misunderstanding about when I will be compensated equally,” but these comments are in stark contrast to surprising optimism statement She was released when she announced her resignation.
“I didn’t do this because I had no hope for Blizzard, on the contrary-I was inspired by the enthusiasm of everyone here, who worked wholeheartedly to achieve meaningful, lasting change,” Onar wrote at the time. “This energy motivates me to go out and explore how to do more to make games and diversity intersect, and hope to have a broader industry impact, which will also benefit Blizzard (and other studios).”
Despite the optimistic announcement, her resignation has dealt a heavy blow to many employees: a source from Activision Blizzard told PC Gamer that after the company’s management made concessions to employees’ demands in October, her unexpected announcement ” Stifled the morale of employees.
Nor can we ignore the inherent hypocrisy of the pay difference between Oneal and Ybarra. Blizzard stated that the new leader is committed to ensuring that the studio is “the safest and most welcoming workplace for women and people of any gender, race, sexual orientation or background”, but it will not bother to ensure that they are in Get equal pay for equal roles.
Oneal and Ybarra took over Blizzard in August 2021 after the resignation of then-President J. Allen Brack. The latter stepped down amidst Activision Blizzard’s ongoing discrimination and sexual harassment scandal. Oneal proposed to resign on November 2, but will serve in the company until the end of 2021.