14 DAY TRIAL // It’s not a secret that technology companies have tried for a long time to encourage diversity and attract more women in this side of the business that has long been dominated by men, but every once in a while there are cases showing that some of them are blatantly failing to achieve this purpose.
Microsoft has recently thrown an after-party following the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco and to get the party going, the company decided to go for the classic recipe and hire a few women dancers. The only problem was that these women were more naked than dressed, so it was only a matter of time until sexism accusations were thrown back against Microsoft.
The company’s CEO Satya Nadella himself pledged for diversity at Microsoft and the software giant has actually been one of the main supporters of a no-attractive-booth-babes approach at conferences, but somehow, this kind of things still happen every once in a while.
“We deserve the criticism”
The company has already issued a statement to apology for this mistake and clearly emphasized that similar cases will no longer be “tolerated.” In other words, those responsible for this kind of blunders will be punished.
“At Xbox-hosted events at GDC this past week, we represented Xbox and Microsoft in a way that was not consistent or aligned to our value. It was unequivocally wrong and will not be tolerated. I know we disappointed many people and I’m personally committed to holding ourselves to higher standards. We must ensure that diversity and inclusion are central to our everyday business and core values. We will do better in the future,” Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, stated.
Additionally, Spencer has already issued an internal memo that once again criticizes the approach and clearly emphasizes that this “will not be tolerated.” You can read the full memo in the box after the jump and express your thoughts on Microsoft’s latest blunder in the comment box below.