Microsoft to make sexual harassment investigation public

Microsoft has hired a law firm to review its sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies and scrutinize a 2019 board investigation of co-founder Bill Gates, according to a report in Bloomberg.

"The firm is experienced in these matters and has not previously been involved in representing Microsoft in employment matters, nor has it done a significant amount of work for the company in the past," Microsoft said, according to Bloomberg.

Mcrosoft says it will review its policies regarding sexual harassment and gender discrimination and publicly release the results of investigations into allegations involving members of the board of directors and senior leadership, including Bill Gates.

The Seattle Times reports the board announced Thursday that Microsoft would hire a third-party law firm to conduct a review that would assess the company's practices, examine those policies against "best practices" adopted by other companies and look at the steps Microsoft has taken to hold employees and executives accountable.

The review will culminate in a public report — expected in the spring — that will include data on the number of sexual harassment cases investigated as well as their resolutions.

"We're committed not just to reviewing the report but learning from the assessment so we can continue to improve the experiences of our employees,'' Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement.

The report follows a shareholder resolution that passed in 2021. The resolution sought a report on the effectiveness of the company's workplace sexual harassment policies in light of claims of sexual harassment, including allegations that Gates sought to have inappropriate relationships with employees.

(With PTI inputs)

Published on: Friday, January 14, 2022, 12:20 PM IST