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[Eddie-Griffin]

https://cheddar.com/media/activisio...hows-continuing-lack-of-gender-representation

On the verge of its acquisition by Microsoft, video game publisher Activision Blizzard on Thursday released its first annual report on diversity and inclusion, and the results showed that the company has a long way to go before hitting its goals around increasing the representation of women and non-binary people in its workforce.
The gaming giant had faced pressure from shareholders and employees to reform its corporate culture and practices after a series of reports exposed rampant discrimination and harassment. The report is an attempt to follow through on promises to better track its progress on increasing diversity.
Among other changes, Blizzard Activision separated "Woman" and "Non-binary" gender identities in representation data, which is how the company was able to show that both groups made up 26 percent of the workforce in December, which is just over half of its 2025 goal and unchanged from November.
"We'll continue to measure the impact of these changes, as we're confident this work will contribute to our goal of becoming the most welcoming and inclusive company in the industry," wrote Kristen Hines, the chief diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) officer for Activision Blizzard, in a blog post.
"We also believe this will help us meet the commitment we made in 2021 to increase the percentage of women and non-binary employees by 50% over five years."

https://activisionblizzard.substack.com/p/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-2022

Our global Employee Network Groups (ENGs) lay at the heart of our organization and provide safe spaces for connection, growth, learning, and leadership for many of our employees. They also influence the core of our business through cross-Network collaboration on important topics like including pronouns in our systems, and new character creation features in our games.

In addition to our ENGs, we’ve created opportunities for connection through new people-focused programs. A few of these include:

• Press Pause, a series of roundtable discussions that create a safe space for courageous conversations not typically had in the workplace, and shine a light on the experiences of our employees from different backgrounds
• Walking the Talk@ABK, a video series featuring our employees who champion DE&I from across the business and around the world, and spotlighting the impact of their initiatives and efforts
• DE&I Community of Action (CoA), a space for DE&I champions from all parts of the company to connect, share best practices, explore educational opportunities, and grow personally and professionally
• Together@ABK Mentorship Program, a mentorship program launched in collaboration with our ENGs to help create a deeper sense of community among employees and help them grow

(Press Pause, a series of roundtable discussions that create a safe space for courageous conversations not typically had in the workplace and shine a light on the experiences of our employees from different backgrounds)

We’re also working to embed DE&I values and practices into every level of the organization and across the employee lifecycle. In partnership with the ABK Talent team, we’re reimagining how we think about our talent pipeline and how we make the recruitment experience more welcoming for all. We continue to evolve our recruiting practices to encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for our open roles. This approach paved the way for new programs like Level Up U, and amped up our recruitment presence at events like Black Tech Fest in the U.K. and Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Bowl, helping us reach more potential candidates and create a more diverse pipeline of talent.

Changes to how our job descriptions are written also encourage diverse applicants. For example, research shows that women and members of other underrepresented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do. To address this, we added language to encourage people to apply even if the applicant believes they don’t meet all requirements.

We also implemented “Textio,” a writing tool that helps make the job description language more inclusive and gender-neutral. In 2022, the Talent team revised more than 5,500 job descriptions using Textio as a tool.

So, I find it interesting how theirs such a race to implement these types of programs, Activision thought a good diversity program for safe-space discussions involving different backgrounds including LGBT, should be named "press pause", which has got to be one of the funniest slip ups I've seen yet.

Also "own the" is apparently a male-centric set of words. I guess women can't own things anymore.

I'm assuming the goal of Activision is to reach the Xbox Indie diversity levels as shown here,

Yes, I believe Activision is going to need more time before they can reach diversity of this level. Still some ways to go.

Also, this is the first time I'm hearing about Textio, it must be a newer corporate application to prevent offending people, but I think that if "own the" is an offensive set of words, it may be going a bit far imo.

 

[nial]

NOBODY CARES

 

[splattered]

This is where 343 finally becomes useful... just release all the ladies into the wind and integrate within the various Activision studios. All will finally be right with the world.

 

[Skifi28]

Oh no

 

[Bragr]

Non-binary people are 0.000000001% of the population. That they have 1% of them at the company is a huge overrepresentation. They should hire fewer.

And lmfao at measuring race retention. Jesus christ.

 

[Dynasty8]

Forced inclusivity is bad in every industry.

 

[Banjo64]

What the fuck

 

[PectacularOz]

This is just a diversion from their actual job - video game development to increase share holder satisfaction.

It doesn't matter what colour skin an artist has, or what type of genitals a programmer has.

It doesn't matter if they lean in favour of your political views, any more than it matters if they dont.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Because in the real world, people are hired because of their talent and background. That's just how it is. People are expected to work and prove their worth, always. Not because of their race, ethnicity, gender, etc.

 

[LegendOfKage]

They want diversity, because they don't want cohesion, because they don't want people to unionize. They'd rather talk about unity, while pushing a highly divisive worldview of oppressed vs oppressors, so they don't actually have to change anything about the structure of society or their own business. It's why all businesses are embracing this sort of thing. Workers aren't getting paid more, and the people at the top aren't getting paid less. Go ahead and prove me wrong, Activision.

 

[H4ze]

Life is just satire at this point.

 

[In Cold Blood]

Who the fuck cares?
I look at diversity like this.
If I, or a family member, needs a life saving operation, and the best surgeon is a black, transgender, gay, Muslim with one foot, and the second best surgeon is a white, straight, Christian man, I want the black trans surgeon to do the operation.
I want my sporting teams to draft the best players, regardless of their colour. I want the smartest scientists trying to find a cure for cancer.
I use that for everything. Diversity plays no part in it.

 

[Max_Po]

R O F L ...

 

[Grizzled Ghost]

Choosing blue to represent women and pink to represent men on the graph is kind of funny. I'll give em that one.

 

[clarky]

Neo Gaf's very own kent Brokmann reporting on the stories you should care about all day, every day.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

What the fuck

People thought the ID in ID@Xbox stood for Indie, but it was Identity the whole time. Plot twsit.

 

[GHG]

Phil is doing the best work.

 

[Art The Clown]

 

[The Pleasure]

Call of Duty brought to you by Philicia Spencerina

 

[Topher]

Who the fuck cares?
I look at diversity like this.
If I, or a family member, needs a life saving operation, and the best surgeon is a black, transgender, gay, Muslim with one foot, and the second best surgeon is a white, straight, Christian man, I want the black trans surgeon to do the operation.
I want my sporting teams to draft the best players, regardless of their colour. I want the smartest scientists trying to find a cure for cancer.
I use that for everything. Diversity plays no part in it.

What if the best surgeon is a black, transgender, gay, Muslim with no hands?

 

[Grizzled Ghost]

Phil is doing the best work.

I hope this crew got out of GDC in time to make it to the breakdancing competition and save the rec center.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

Choosing blue to represent women and pink to represent men on the graph is kind of funny. I'll give em that one.

Baby Blue.

Real Blue is for "something else" in that circle.

 

[Rush2112]

So basically if you are a game dev and want to be hired at Activision, you can declare yourself non-binary so you can have less competition.

 

[SJRB]

 

[Yoboman]

Women don't want to work on annual testosterone filled shooter franchise

Honestly I'm shocked.

 

[Killer8]

This will solve itself once that Microsoft deal goes through.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Why can’t I kill tranny nazi’s in CoD yet?

 

[Dr.Morris79]

No wonder Blizzard are shit.

 

[twilo99]

NOBODY CARES

Well we should care maybe because I think all of this “wokeness” has had a negative impact on the quality of games we’ve been getting

 

[Elysion]

If I was in charge of a company with a mostly male workforce (especially in an industry that’s already male dominated), but I wanted to make it look like I cared about equity or whatever, then I would offer a 5% raise for every male employee who agrees to identify as female. I imagine it would be quite easy to get at least 50% to go along with something like that lol. They wouldn’t even have to legally change their name or gender; nor would they need to dress or act like women. All they’d have to do is ‘identify’ as female, so that the company can claim in its DEI report that its workforce is at least 50% ‘female’. Who would actually check if it’s true? In clown world, personal identity trumps material and biological reality. If the system requires adherence to absurd rules like that, then why not exploit those rules?

 

[Smokken]

Modern Marxism.

 

[Saber]

Priorities. I mean, for them games aren't that important anymore.

 

[nial]

Well we should care maybe because I think all of this “wokeness” has had a negative impact on the quality of games we’ve been getting

They will learn once their games stop selling.

 

[JayK47]

When making games is no longer the priority.

 

[CGNoire]

Reverse Racism = Racism ....Full Stop.

This shit is only pushed bye Race Peddlers and Clout Chasers which there has been a massive influx of.

 

[worldwithpyramids]

yes, keep hiring people who care about diversity over all else. your games definitely won't suffer.

 

[Drew1440]

Gotta get that ESG score somehow

 

[Panajev2001a]

This is just a diversion from their actual job - video game development to increase share holder satisfaction.

It doesn't matter what colour skin an artist has, or what type of genitals a programmer has.

It doesn't matter if they lean in favour of your political views, any more than it matters if they dont.

Do not worry, when these big soulles corps need tons of work done for cheap they just hire teams from outsourcing companies in disparate countries all over the world which tend to be much more homogenous. The diverse hubs they say they want are more expensive.

 

[twilo99]

What Musk did to Twitter should be applied across the gaming industry.

Keep the talent, cut the fat, get back to making games.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

ask Disney how is it going for them.

 

[CGNoire]

They want diversity, because they don't want cohesion, because they don't want people to unionize. They'd rather talk about unity, while pushing a highly divisive worldview of oppressed vs oppressors, so they don't actually have to change anything about the structure of society or their own business. It's why all businesses are embracing this sort of thing. Workers aren't getting paid more, and the people at the top aren't getting paid less. Go ahead and prove me wrong, Activision.

Its always been about closing down and making any Conversation about Classism "Problematic". You litteraly cant bring up Classism anymore in woke spaces without being accused of "drawing attention away from Racism".

 

[fermcr]

The way to improve a company/developer is hire talented, diligent and hardworking people, not diversity.

Look what's happening with 343 Industries... diversity is PR BS.

 

[Luigi Mario]

This will solve itself once that Microsoft deal goes through.

 

[NoLootBoxDev]

I am happy for them, but please hire people because they have the qualifications to do the job, and not because of a quota. Adding people because of a quota and they have no idea what they are doing will make things hard for everyone else.

 

[Barakov]

My last fuck for this kind of stuff flew out the window a long time ago. All these diversity hires has been a net negative everywhere.

 

[ANIMAL1975]

https://cheddar.com/media/activisio...hows-continuing-lack-of-gender-representation

https://activisionblizzard.substack.com/p/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-2022

(Press Pause, a series of roundtable discussions that create a safe space for courageous conversations not typically had in the workplace and shine a light on the experiences of our employees from different backgrounds)

So, I find it interesting how theirs such a race to implement these types of programs, Activision thought a good diversity program for safe-space discussions involving different backgrounds including LGBT, should be named "press pause", which has got to be one of the funniest slip ups I've seen yet.

Also "own the" is apparently a male-centric set of words. I guess women can't own things anymore.

I'm assuming the goal of Activision is to reach the Xbox Indie diversity levels as shown here,

Yes, I believe Activision is going to need more time before they can reach diversity of this level. Still some ways to go.

Also, this is the first time I'm hearing about Textio, it must be a newer corporate application to prevent offending people, but I think that if "own the" is an offensive set of words, it may be going a bit far imo.

I'm doing a lesbian coworker for some time now. Don't ask me how i pull it off, it must be some kind of animal magnetic thing i have. She's in 6 year old relationship with her girlfriend, living together like married and shit. Am I being inclusive or forced inclusive?



I'm totally screwed if this guys find out ain't i?

 

[LordCBH]

What a useless fucking metric.

 

[Elder Legend]

Isn't this racism to begin with? Basing hires of their skin color and sexuality? How is this not racist? This is racism 101. Basically...it's a bunch of racists hiding behind what they think is not racism. Hilarious.

 

[93xfan]

Also "own the" is apparently a male-centric set of words. I guess women can't own things anymore.

I'm assuming the goal of Activision is to reach the Xbox Indie diversity levels as shown here,

Yes, I believe Activision is going to need more time before they can reach diversity of this level. Still some ways to go.

WTF with all theee ABLE-bodies people!!

Totally unrelated, but is it possible the chemicals in my blue hair dye could cause mental illness?

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Forced inclusivity is bad in every industry.

Which is hilarious for tech companies because if there's one kind of industry that skews to men (blue collar or geeky tech) and white/asian people (need a higher level of education which every census survey says they have), you'd think the pie charts above directionally make sense.

Already the pie charts are disproportionately against white people as the US is about 70% white people, yet the charts show them in the 56-61% range. So already cut off by 10%.