Wildlife Studio’s statement regarding the “Rest of World” article

In May of 2020, Wildlife Studios  received a written complaint from three employees, citing  concerns  over  a toxic environment and sexist behavior. It’s important to note that this was not an internal report prepared by the company (as has been previously reported). 

As soon as we became aware of the facts described in the material, we started a thorough internal investigation. We took steps in five areas: investigating individual conduct, investigating whether there was systematic salary-based gender discrimation, strengthening leadership, reviewing ideation guidelines for videos and establishing a process through which potentially offensive content can be anonymously flagged.

Our investigation found that two employees were operating in clear violation of our code of conduct and they were terminated; a third employee received disciplinary action. We also conducted a high-level analysis of pay parity at the company, and found there were no systematic gender discrimination concerns. 

Upon realizing that there was a problem in the department cited in the complaint, the company invested in strengthening female leadership. Today, the department leadership is primarily led by women, from the area manager to the department’s director and senior director, who reports directly to the CEO. We are seeing the results on engagement and gender diversity, as the hiring rate for women in this department is well above the industry average. We’ve also refined our ideation guidelines for marketing art videos and created a process in which people can anonymously report videos they deem offensive. The video is evaluated by an impartial committee that decides on whether to take the content offline.

Diversity is an issue of utmost importance to Wildlife and the company works to create a safe and inclusive environment. As part of our initiatives, we have a channel managed by an external company where any employee or former employee can anonymously report violations of our code of conduct. And all complaints received are investigated and, after a rigorous fact-finding process, we take the appropriate measures for each situation. 

More recently, we also brought to our team an expert contributor in fair pay and author of the book ‘Fair Pay: How to Get a Raise, Close the Wage Gap, and Build Stronger Business’, with the goal of continuing to work towards an equity environment. In 2022 Wildlife Studios is undertaking a detailed role-by-role pay parity analysis, to ensure pay equity across every role in the company.  While our investigation of two years ago indicated no systematic issues, we are committed to evaluate every role in the company to root out and address any known inequities.  Wildlife monitors the career progress of different groups and is proud to say that men and women are promoted equally.