The manager Frances Townsend is stepping down from one of her positions at Activison Blizzard but will remain with the company. 3000 employees had demanded her resignation as the “Executive Sponsor” of the women’s network in a letter. Townsend played an unfortunate role in the sexism scandal surrounding the WoW developer Blizzard.
Which position is Townsend stepping down from? Frances Townsend was the “Executive Sponsor” of the women’s network at Activision Blizzard. In this role, she served as a project leader and was responsible for the network’s activities towards the board. If translated to German conditions, she would likely have been something like the highest-ranking equality officer at Activision Blizzard.
She is now stepping down from this position.
However, Townsend will remain with Activision Blizzard. She holds the position of Executive Vice President. She only joined the company in January 2021.
Internal statement after sexism lawsuit caused a lot of criticism
This caused a lot of anger: Employees at Blizzard had demanded Townsend’s resignation from her position in an open letter to the management. It was initially signed by about 1,000 employees, but the number of signatories has now increased to 3,000.
The employees of Blizzard were particularly upset about an internal email from Townsend. In it, she reacted to the lawsuit from a state authority against Blizzard. This internal email was made public.
Townsend referred to the allegations in the lawsuit in this email as “distorted,” “outdated,” and “factually incorrect”: Activision Blizzard is a great company with wonderful values. She made this statement in her role as the Executive Sponsor of the women’s network and Chief Compliance Officer of the company.
Activision Blizzard executive Fran Townsend, who was the Homeland Security Advisor to George W. Bush from 2004-2007 and joined Activision in March, sent out a very different kind of email that has some Blizzard employees fuming. pic.twitter.com/BxGeMTuRYF
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) July 23, 2021
Additionally, there was angry reactions on Twitter when Townsend shared a post that criticized “whistleblowers.” She was criticized for the post. However, her reaction was criticized even more sharply: She blocked critics, including Blizzard employees, and ultimately deleted her Twitter account completely.
According to the site Kotaku, she did this of her own accord, and the company did not ask her to delete her Twitter account.
What Townsend says now: She says that with her resignation she is doing what is right for the network, and she will continue to support the women’s network as best she can.
The Washington Post further reports that Townsend told Blizzard employees in a Zoom meeting that in her original statement, she had listened to legal counsel regarding the language. Therefore, it did not end up sounding like herself.
Townsend’s resignation is another consequence of the scandal:
WoW: President J. Allen Brack leaves Blizzard – After sexism scandal
