Chinese tech company Tencent has apologised after a video was posted on social media of employees playing a sexually suggestive game at a work party, Bloomberg reports.
Employees of the Shenzhen-headquartered company, which is worth over $200 billion (£164 billion), posted videos from their annual dinner that show female staff trying to open water bottles tucked between men’s legs with their mouths.
Tencent, which operates the WeChat instant messaging platform and several other companies in China, condemned the activities in a statement seen by Bloomberg and promised that such mistakes wouldn’t happen again.
Charlotte Han, who helps women to develop their careers in her role at the 500 Startups incubator in Beijing, told Bloomberg: “It’s quite shocking because my impression was that things were improving. And then this happens.”
Han added: “A lot of stereotype challenges that Chinese women face come from social and culture expectations.”
This isn't the first time that a large Chinese tech company has found itself in trouble for the way that it allows women to be seen and treated.
Two years ago, Alibaba had to remove a job application that sought women with "porn-star qualities", according to Bloomberg. The women were reportedly being hired to be office cheerleaders for programmers. Tencent did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
