Niantic has been accused of creating a "toxic boys club" work culture that actively discriminates against female employees. Women of colour are particularly discriminated against, according to one anonymous worker, who claims she was paid less than white male employees with lower job titles and fewer responsibilities.
These allegations have come to light in a lawsuit brought on by one of the workers in question, on behalf of other women at Niantic. In her three years at the company, the worker known only as Jane Doe says higher-ups didn't "tolerate discussion or dissent about equity, equal pay issues, or sexism". Doe even claims that she was outright told that speaking out about workplace sexism could put her job at risk, explaining that such behaviour had "impacted" her performance reviews in the past.
The lawsuit makes numerous specific complaints, citing different incidents and remarks, and even referring to some departments and members of management by name. For example, Doe says that the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Director and Principal People Partner threatened her position at Niantic if she continued to complain about gender and racial discrimination at the company.
In another incident, it's claimed that Niantic’s chief marketing officer, Mike Quigley, personally intervened to stop women at the Pokemon Go developer from organising. This is said to have happened when some women sent out a survey on working conditions within Niantic, with the results revealing that many of them felt they were discriminated against. Quigley allegedly responded by forcing the women to remove any answers about sexism from a planned presentation, and barred them from conducting company surveys in the future, at least without management's permission. Quigley hasn't responded to these claims at the time of writing.
As a result, Doe is seeking to launch a class action lawsuit against Niantic on behalf of all female employees who worked at the developer from 2019 to 2023. She alleges that Niantic has committed multiple breaches of Californian labour law, and seeks a jury trial.
"Throughout Plaintiff’s employment with Niantic, Niantic denied equal pay and stifled the careers of women and women of color, like Plaintiff," reads the lawsuit. "The blatant favoritism that Niantic has given to men comes from the top of the organization, including from Chief Executive Officer John Hanke and the male leadership at Niantic that surrounds him.
"Female employees see Niantic as a Boys Club where men mentor and boost the careers of other men while leaving women and women of color behind."
Niantic is yet to respond to the claims put forward, or indicate how it intends to respond to the lawsuit. This comes less than two weeks since Niantic laid off 230 employees and cancelled two of its projects, citing a need to "free up resources" for its existing library of games and the rise of mixed-reality technology.