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An activist investor urges Microsoft to do more to tackle sexual harassment following allegations of misconduct against its founder Bill Gates.
In a shareholder resolution released on Wednesday, impact investment firm Arjuna Capital called on Microsoft to release an annual transparency report detailing its sexual harassment policies and its investigations into alleged incidents at the company.
“Microsoft is under intense public scrutiny due to numerous allegations of sexual harassment and an alleged failure to deal with them adequately and transparently,” said Natasha Lamb, Managing Partner of Arjuna Capital, in a press release. “Reports of inappropriate relationships and alleged sexual advances by Bill Gates towards Microsoft employees have only heightened concerns, challenging the culture established by senior executives.”
Microsoft declined to comment on the shareholders’ resolution.
There have been a series of allegations and reports in recent weeks about Gates’ behavior in the workplace. The allegations emerged after news of his divorce from wife Melinda French Gates was announced in early May.
Much of the attention has been drawn to an affair between Gates and a Microsoft employee in 2000, a relationship that Gates representatives acknowledged and allegedly took place while he was chairman of the board. Microsoft’s board said it launched an investigation into the matter two years ago. Gates left the Microsoft board in early 2020, although a spokesperson for Gates said the decision was unrelated to the investigation.
Microsoft faced broader charges from employees alleging gender discrimination and sexual harassment, and was the subject of a class action lawsuit in 2015 in which a former employee alleged that she had been unfairly discriminated against. The company said at the time that it was “committed to a diverse workforce.”
In 2019, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced an overhaul of the way the company handles HR disputes in a letter to employees, promising more employee support and greater transparency.
Last month, Nadella addressed the allegations against Gates and questions about the company’s culture.
“The Microsoft of 2021 is very different from the Microsoft of 2000,” Nadella said in an interview on CNBC. “For me and for everyone at Microsoft, our focus on our culture, our diversity, our inclusion, in particular, the daily experience of our employees is very important, it’s a huge priority.”
In its resolution, Arjuna Capital urged the company to release the results of independent investigations into the misconduct allegations, as well as the number of cases of sexual harassment investigated.
“To avoid legal and reputational risks and maintain shareholder value, Microsoft must create a culture of accountability and transparency, protecting employees from harassment and discrimination,” the investment company said.
Arjuna Capital has lobbied tech companies and large corporations, including Facebook, Amazon, Alphabet and Twitter, on a variety of issues, including wage disparities, sexual harassment, civil rights and climate change.
Its latest resolution for Microsoft will be presented at the company’s shareholders meeting in December.
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