Microsoft said it would compare itself against the best practices of other companies on matters of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
Photo:
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News
Microsoft Corp.’s
MSFT -4.23%
board of directors on Thursday said it would review the company’s sexual harassment and gender discrimination policies and unveil a summary of the results of past investigations into how the company handled allegations against company executives, including co-founder
Bill Gates.
The software company’s board is taking this action in response to an unexpected win by activist shareholders at the company’s annual investor meeting in November with a proposal demanding greater disclosure around sexual harassment issues.
“Our culture remains our number one priority and the entire Board appreciates the critical importance of a safe and inclusive environment for all Microsoft employees,” said Microsoft Chief Executive
Satya Nadella
in a statement announcing the board’s plans. “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. I embrace this comprehensive review as an opportunity to continue to get better.”
‘Our cuture remains our No. 1 priority,’ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement Thursday.
Photo:
tobias schwarz/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
The review will be conducted by law firm Arent Fox LLP, which the board selected because the firm has experience in these matters and hasn’t done a significant amount of work with Microsoft previously.
Arent Fox will submit its findings to Microsoft senior management and board members with recommendations. The company expects to be able to share a summary of the results of the findings with the public in the spring.
The law firm’s review will lead to the public release of a Microsoft transparency report detailing the effectiveness of the company’s workplace policies related to sexual harassment and gender discrimination. It will include data on the number of sexual harassment cases investigated and what the results were. The report will also summarize the results of investigations into Mr. Gates as well as other senior leaders.
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, who left the company’s board in 2020, attends the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021.
Photo:
Evan Vucci/Associated Press
A Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter, last year said Microsoft board members pursued an investigation in 2019 into the billionaire’s prior romantic relationship with a female employee. Mr. Gates stepped down from the board in 2020. In the Journal article, a spokeswoman for Mr. Gates said the affair had ended amicably close to 20 years earlier and that his decision to leave the board wasn’t related to any investigation.
Microsoft on Thursday said it is going beyond the shareholder proposal and would be comparing itself against the best practices on these matters that have been adopted by other companies.
Write to Aaron Tilley at [email protected]
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