Microsoft shareholders vote against management
Microsoft’s shareholders have backed a protest vote calling on the company to reveal more about its handling of sexual harassment claims, in the shadow of recent cases and the revelation that co-founder Bill Gates had a relationship with a company employee, the Financial Times reports. The annual shareholders meeting voted against management. Management committed to more transparency.
However, the company stopped short of saying it would reveal details about individual cases and it did not make any commitment to reopen its handling of cases from previous years, the newspaper reports.
Arjuna Capital, which submitted the shareholder proposal challenging management, said Microsoft’s human resources department upheld only one claim against the group out of a total of 238 that were included in a class-action lawsuit alleging discrimination and harassment in 2012.
“Reports of Bill Gates’ inappropriate relationships and sexual advances towards Microsoft employees have only exacerbated concerns, putting in question the culture set by top leadership, and the board’s role holding those culpable accountable,” it said.
Natasha Lamb, managing partner, Arjuna Capital, said in a statement:
“Microsoft is under intense public scrutiny due to numerous claims of sexual harassment and an alleged failure to address them adequately and transparently. Reports of Bill Gates’ alleged inappropriate relationships and sexual advances towards Microsoft employees have only exacerbated concerns, putting in question the culture set by top leadership, and the board’s role holding those culpable accountable.”
“Investors are concerned Microsoft may be facing a culture of systemic sexual harassment, putting at risk the company’s ability to attract and retain talent.”
According to the Arjuna Capital shareholder resolution: “In 2012, a class-action lawsuit was brought by 238 Microsoft workers alleging gender discrimination and sexual harassment, noting Microsoft’s human resources team continuously overlooked and denied these allegations, only deeming one as founded.”
“Claims resurfaced in April 2019 after several women activated a company-wide email chain claiming Microsoft disregarded such complaints. With mounting internal pressure, Chief Executive Satya Nadella announced Microsoft would change its human resource processes, commit to publish(ing) internal reports on data of investigations, and form a Global Employee Relations team to guide employees through investigations. As of 2020, Microsoft employees stated that internal reports had yet to be seen and that they were unaware of the newly formed team.”
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