Prompted by lawsuits and allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination,Activision Blizzardannounced in late October it was making a committment towards elevating its female and non-binary demographics by 50%. To provide transparency towards this goal,Activision Blizzardhas shared a breakdown of the diversity from across its four subsections for the first time in the company’s history.
The data was shared by Daniel Alegre, Activision Blizzard’s Chief Operating Officer, who paired it with a letter outlining goals, failures, and progress. The data itself contained a sector-by-sector breakdown of Activision, Blizzard, King, and AB Corporate’s demographics with both women and under-represented ethnic groups (or UEGs).
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After the many pitfalls Activision Blizzard has fallen into this year, all eyes have been scrutinizing the company’s actions. Competitors, investors, and even state legislators have been chiding ABK’s poor responses to sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. To make matters worse,Activision Blizzard has begun anti-union activityagainst its employees in response to several strikes and demands.
This level of transparency is one of few good marks on Activision Blizzard’s otherwise spotty record as of late. Allegre seems well-aware this data is far from an excuse to pat himself on the back–the fact the industry standard of women in game development is only 24% is indicative of greater problems Activision Blizzard should be trying to set a standard on, rather than shooting for par. The company still has much work to do, but it may be able to restore some of thefaith it lost with the ABK staffand fans if it continues to work with this level of transparency.
Words alone, however, will not be enough to save Activision Blizzard. After all, the promise for increased diversity back in October was made by CEO Bobby Kotick–recently revealed to have been complicit in the perpetuation of theculture that got Activision Blizzard in trouble in the first place. Unless real, lasting change happens in the company and industry as a whole,Activision Blizzardcannot afford to feed its constituents half measures.
