Company Respect and ME: Black Helmet Apparel

Update: Black Helmet Apparel has since gone out of business. I will leave it at that.

Update 2: Black Helmet is back (2025) and they seem to be back to basics

Women and Technology: A Lesson from Blizzard's Failure

 Here's #4:

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Women and Technology: A Lesson from Blizzard's Failure

I am sad and angry about what continues to come out of the Blizzard/Activision campus. The reports describe years of extreme toxicity, sexual harassment, and outright assault, all protected and perpetuated by a culture that should never have been allowed to take root in the first place.

Let me say that plainly, because it deserves to be said without softening: this was not a rough workplace. This was a sustained, predatory environment that destroyed careers and harmed real people.

I have been a Blizzard supporter since Warcraft 2. I subscribed to World of Warcraft from its launch, with only a brief break in 2005. I attended BlizzCon four times in person and several more times virtually. At one point, working there was genuinely my dream job. I believed in what they built.

Blizzard was at the top of the gaming world for a long time. Then the wheels started coming off. The Activision merger in 2008 began a slow cultural shift. Chris Metzen's departure in 2016 was followed by a broader leadership exodus in 2018. What came after was not a surprise to the people inside, even if it shocked those of us watching from outside.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing described the workplace culture as a "pervasive frat boy" environment. That phrase is almost too mild for what the reports actually describe.

Here is what troubles me most beyond the harm done to the victims: the technology industry already struggles deeply to attract and retain women. The pipeline problem is real, the systemic barriers are real, and stories like this make every bit of progress harder to achieve. When news breaks that one of the most celebrated companies in tech fostered this kind of environment for years, why would any woman look at this industry and think she would be safe, valued, or respected?

I have seen what a genuinely inclusive team looks like. At one point in my career, my IT department was split evenly between men and women. It was one of the best teams I have ever led. Not despite that balance, but in part because of it. Different perspectives, different problem-solving approaches, and a culture where everyone felt they belonged made us better at everything we did.

The best manager I ever had was a woman. She gave me an opportunity I might not have gotten elsewhere, genuinely invested in who I was becoming, and mentored me for four years. I would not be the leader I am today without her influence.

I was bullied in high school. I have been treated poorly at jobs. Those experiences did not harden me into someone who passes that treatment along. They made me determined to make sure nobody on my team ever has to feel that way. Every person, regardless of their background, identity, or sex, deserves every opportunity to succeed and a workplace where they feel genuinely safe.

Toxic culture does not survive because of one bad actor. It survives because people around it stay quiet. That ends when leaders decide it ends.

I cancelled my 16-year World of Warcraft subscription until Blizzard addresses the lawsuit and makes real, meaningful changes. Not symbolic ones. Real ones.

We can do better. We have to.