Riot pledges to change its 'cultural DNA' after sexism allegations
"We’re sorry," says the video game developer following allegations of a toxic work environment.
- She has a master's degree in journalism from Syracuse University.
Fans watch an esports tournament for League of Legends, a game by Riot Games.
Riot Games, maker of League of Legends, apologized Wednesday for sexism and misogyny at the company.
"As a company, we're used to patching problems ASAP, but this patch will not happen overnight," the statement said, noting that diversity, inclusion, respect and equality are nonnegotiable.
Riot Games didn't immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
The apology follows an August story from Kotaku alleging a sexist work environment where women's opinions were discounted and female employees were subjected to sexual harassment.
Riot Games is one of the latest companies to be publicly outed for an internal culture unfriendly to women. In another high-profile instance, Uber came under scrutiny for sexual harassment. In the larger tech industry, hostile work environments are cited among a laundry list of reasons why women leave tech or don't even get near it at all.
In the company's apology, it also outlined steps it'll take going forward, like reevaluating its recruiting practices and expanding its culture, diversity and inclusion initiative.
"We will weave this change into our cultural DNA and leave no room for sexism or misogyny," the statement said.