Activision Blizzard Hires New Chief Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Officer

Activision Blizzard is once again expanding its staff in order to create a more diverse environment and address the issues that have been plaguing the company for some time now. Today, the company announced the appointment of Kristen Hines – a former leader of the Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity practice at Accenture – as the game developer and publisher’s new Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. If you’re unsure what that rather lengthy title is all about, Hines will be working with the existing leadership and Employee Resource Groups to create programs and policies aimed at making Activision Blizzard a more welcoming company for employees of all types. She’ll also be working with the developers to ensure the company’s games exhibit more diversity as well.

When Hines begins work at Activision Blizzard on April 25, she will report to the company’s Chief People Officer Julie Hodges. One of her primary goals will be to increase the percentage of women and non-binary people in the company by fifty percent over the next five years. That’s fifty percent of the women and non-binary people already working there, not the entirety of Activision Blizzard.

It will be interesting to see how, if at all, Hines is able to improve the situation at Activision Blizzard for the employees. Hopefully, it does, in fact, help. Of course, time will only tell and we will likely have to wait well past her start date to see the results.

To read the full announcement, hit up Blizzard's site.

Note: Activision Blizzard is still under investigation by the state of California for serious harassment charges. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about such actions within his company – and performed some himself – and shielded the perpetrators from consequences.