Microsoft Investigating Sexual Harassment Claims Overlooked by HR

On an email thread, dozens of women have shared their stories of discrimination and sexual harassment at Microsoft.

In an extensive mail chain within Microsoft, female employees and partners have shared their experiences of sexual harassment and gender discrimination, Quartz reported citing 90 email pages reviewed by them.

The chain started when on 20 March, one employee asked other women in the company about ways to move up in the organisation, six years after being at a stagnant position without seeing a possibility of moving ahead.

Dozens of women have since shared their stories of facing discrimination and harassment at Microsoft – from being asked to sit on a coworkers lap in front of the HR to sexist comments like being called a “bi**h.”

Quartz verified the emails with two Microsoft employees. An employee, according to the report has written on the mail that the thread has pulled a scab off a festering wound and that the mail reaching a wider audience is a good thing.

Quartz laid down a few cases of the kind of harassment faced by female employees in Microsoft:

• One woman alleged that during a work trip, an employee of a partner company threatened to kill her if she refused to perform sexual acts. When she reached out to the HR, she was told that since there is no proof and the person is not a Microsoft employee, nothing could be done about it.
• Another woman said that she had been called a 'bi**h' multiple times at work and found out that it was a common thing in the company.
• Another employee, as mentioned above, was told to sit on someone's lap while she was working as a Microsoft partner, at a senior position in the organisation.

Microsoft's top HR executive has also responded to the mail thread, the report said citing a company spokesperson and the company is holding a meeting on Friday where it’s expected to address the accusations laid down in the thread.

“I would like to offer to anyone who has had such demeaning experiences including those who felt were dismissed by management or HR to email me directly. I will personally look into the situation with my team,” Hogan was quoted by Quartz as saying on the mail trail.

The report also said that CEO Satya Nadella and chief legal officer Brad Smith were also included on the list of recipients in the email chain.

(With inputs from Quartz)