Microsoft's toxic culture persists despite pledge by CEO Satya Nadella

We must change this."Yet interviews with dozens of current and former employees suggest the incident involving Kipman is part of a widespread pattern of executive misconduct — including verbal abuse and sexual harassment — that continues to persist at Microsoft. In May 2021, when Gates faced allegations of inappropriate behavior toward female Microsoft employees and ultimately acknowledged having an affair with a staffer, Nadella assured everyone that the company he runs is a new Microsoft. "The Microsoft of 2021 is very different from the Microsoft of 2000 to me and to everyone at Microsoft," Nadella said.But current and former employees say the public pronouncements and policy changes have failed to solve deeply entrenched problems at the company. A similar email chain focused on reports of sexual harassment and discrimination spread through the company in 2019.Employees interviewed by Insider say that even the new policies Nadella has instituted to address these problems haven't always worked as intended. "With 17K+ employees," she added, "of course there will be a few disgruntled in the mix." The representative said that Myerson left the company on "great terms," and noted that Microsoft later invested in his new company, Truveta. Kipman did not respond to a request for comment from Insider, and Microsoft said the reports of him being chaperoned were "not true." But last year, employees who say they've been subjected to inappropriate interactions with Kipman decided that enough was enough. It's not clear whether Nadella saw the report, but the contributor was disappointed that Microsoft has allowed Kipman to remain in a high-profile position."This is not the kind of culture Satya talks about," the person said. "Microsoft is deeply invested in all aspects of our culture and employee experience, which includes ensuring employees have clear opportunities to voice any concerns they have about workplace behavior," the company said in a statement. "I'm really disappointed that we didn't hear from Satya what his plans are to make sure that the awful culture that has taken root in Activision Blizzard won't fester and spread within Microsoft," one employee wrote in an internal message-board comment viewed by Insider shortly after the deal was announced. "A new CEO shows up and they just learn to play the same game in a different way."Company insiders say a culture of executive misconduct has remained constant and pervasive at Microsoft, from Gates to the present day. "From experience, I know that toxic culture at Microsoft doesn't just disappear when a toxic person disappears," one employee said.