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Activision Blizzard Inc. announced it has hired a new executive to fill in the position of chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer in the company. It has appointed Kristen Hines, a former Accenture executive, for the role, and this was revealed on Monday, April 12.
As per Reuters, the appointment of a new DEI chief comes as the company has been heavily criticized for the kind of work culture inside its office. Last year, Activision Blizzard was brought to court to face lawsuits for allegedly fostering a sexist culture.
The “Call of Duty” developer and publisher has been investigated, and allegations of sexual harassment also surfaced in the process. To make matters worst, the gaming firm’s employees have even staged walkouts as they did not find the management’s response to the issue satisfying. They think the company is not doing enough to address the issues.
In any case, Activision Blizzard is hoping to improve the work culture inside its walls with the help of its new chief DEI. Hines has been with Accenture since 2006 and headed the company’s Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity practice until early this month.
With her move to Activision, she is expected to work across its gaming team units to make sure that diverse and inclusive perspectives are incorporated into the game design, especially in character development and storylines. Overall, she will play an important role in advancing and promoting Activision Blizzard’s commitment to raising the number of women and non-binary people in the workforce by 50% throughout the next five years.
“Activision Blizzard has ambitious goals to become the most welcoming and inclusive company in the gaming industry. We have already made significant progress ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees, and we are excited to have Kristen join our leadership team to help drive even greater improvement,” Activision Blizzard’s chief executive officer, Bobby Kotick, said in a press release.
The chief added, “Kristen’s success leading complex transformation with measurable results makes her the right person to ensure we deliver on our diversity, equity and inclusion commitments and build a model workplace aligned with our values.”
