Former Twitch employees describe culture of sexism, harassment, racism internally

▲ Image via Twitch

 

On Thursday afternoon, a report from GamesIndustry.biz outlined a history of workplace misconduct, racism, and sexism within the offices of one of the largest live streaming services on the planet, Twitch, according to over a dozen multiple current and former employees who work for the company.

 

One former employee, who chose to remain anonymous, described a world where the work environment was as difficult to manage as the jobs they were being asked to perform on a daily basis.

 

"Twitch repeatedly swept accounts of harassment and abuse under the rug: sexual, verbal, physical abuse, and racism. And not just my own. It took place in the office. At events. In meetings and behind closed doors. It was rampant and unavoidable. We heard about it in the halls. We saw it at our desks. It was overt and part of the job," said the individual.

 

Women, in particular, received the brunt of the abuse, according to numerous individuals in the report. Between employees referring to female streamers on the platform as "boob streamers," women in the office commonly referred to as b------.  and numerous accusations of physical assault all taking place, a culture of sexism and misogyny became commonplace.

 

Management, when notified of incidents, not only engaged in this behavior but dismissed any real wrong-doing, according to the report.

 

"For me it was just shocking to see the higher-ups do it. I just assumed you hear these stories that it would just be like, normal people, and not people in power. It's the people you're supposed to be looking up to, the people you're supposed to be respecting who are the ones acting out, which I thought was shocking," said a source.

 

When notified of the claims, a Twitch spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz the following:

 

 "We take any allegations of this nature extremely seriously, whether on our service or within our company, and work swiftly to investigate and address them as appropriate. Any suggestions to the contrary misrepresent our culture, leadership, and values.

 

"Many of these allegations are years old, and we've taken numerous steps to better protect and support our employees and community, and will continue to invest time and resources in this area.""

 

The full report can be read here.

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