Sony Hit With Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of All Female Employees, Alleging Culture of Workplace Discrimination

Sony Gender Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: A former employee of Sony is suing the electronics company for workplace discrimination. 
• Why: The employee alleges Sony has a culture of discriminating against female employees, including paying them less and denying them promotions.
• Where: The class action seeks to represent all female Sony employees in California

Sony cultivates a work environment that discriminates against female employees, where women are paid less than men and struggle to get a promotion due to their gender, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

In a class action complaint filed Nov. 22 in a California federal court, Plaintiff Emma Majo, a former employee at Sony, alleges the electronics conglomerate has willfully and systemically violated the Equal Pay Act.

Majo says she worked for the PlayStation wing of Sony in California from 2015 to 2021, when her contract was terminated after she spoke up against the discrimination she saw in the workforce. 

Majo alleges her managers would not be in a room with her unless the door was open, that they would not speak to her if a male colleague was present, and that she had to relay messages to her managers through male interns who were subordinate to her. 

She was not granted any sort of promotion in six years, despite repeatedly asking for guidance on how to achieve it. 

“In 2021, Plaintiff submitted a signed statement to Sony detailing the gender bias she has experienced at Sony. Soon after that, Plaintiff received a letter that she was being terminated,” the lawsuit states. 

Majo alleges that her story is not unique, but represents the stories of many female employees at Sony who were not paid the same as their male counterparts for the same work and were denied promotions.

Half of All PlayStation Owners Are Female, but Sony’s Executive Leadership is ‘100 percent’ Male

Even though nearly half of PlayStation owners are females, a 2020 study revealed that Sony’s Executive Committee was 100 percent male, the lawsuit states. In a global report based on Fortune 500 Global companies, Sony received the worst possible rating, “Asleep,” because it did not have any females in either Staff or Line leadership roles, Majo says. 

She’s looking to represent a class of California employees who worked at Sony Interactive Entertainment in the past four years and who identify as female. 

“Upon information and belief, Sony’s discriminatory employment practices, policies, and procedures are centrally established and implemented at the highest levels.”

Majo is seeking structural change at Sony to address gender bias, an award of back pay and other damages for lost compensation and job benefits suffered by the Class Members, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

The news comes as Sony is accused of creating a monopoly over the sale of digital PlayStation games and charges supracompetitive prices for the games, according to another class action lawsuit. 

What do you think of the allegations in this lawsuit? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Stephen Noel Ilg and George L. Lin of ILG Legal Office PC. Counsel information for Sony wasn’t immediately available Tuesday.

The Sony Gender Bias Class Action Lawsuit is Emma Majo v. Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, Case No. 3:21-cv-09054, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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