Gaming giant Activision Blizzard has named Kristen Hines as the company's new Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer, months after issues of discrimination and harassment in the company were put to light by news sites.
Kristen Hines joins Activision-Blizzard as New DEI Officer
"Hines joins Activision Blizzard from Accenture where she most recently led the Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity practice, and sat on the firm's global leadership team for the CEO transformation practice," Activision Blizzard said in a press release.
"In that role, she helped organizations establish and strengthen their own [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] strategies and capabilities, ensuring success through integration with the business, data-driven accountability, and continuous feedback loops between leaders and employees. She brings over two decades of experience across a variety of clients and industries, and has focused on large-scale enterprise and culture transformation, talent strategies, and mergers and acquisitions for clients across the Americas, Europe, and Asia."
This announcement comes after lawsuits were filed against the company due to harassment and discrimination issues. Along with this, the company has also announced that they will be converting all quality assurance testers to full-time employees and will receive benefits and an increase in wages. Recently, news of Raven Software's attempt to unionize rose after about a dozen contractual QA workers were laid off. Activision, however, opted to not recognize the union.
Hines previously worked at Accenture as the managing director of its global inclusion, diversity, and equity practice. According to Hines, gaming has the potential to bring together communities from all over the world, as well as show characters from all backgrounds. Hines says that through her new role she could contribute to "expanding the landscape for talent who brings these compelling experiences to a broad base of players."
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Activision Blizzard CEO Says Hines is 'The Right Person' For the Job
Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard 's CEO, has been a controversial figure in light of the news. According to The Wall Street Journal, he was reportedly aware of the company's history of sexual misconduct. Walkouts have already occurred demanding Kotick's resignation. The CEO said that he would consider resigning if the company's workplace issues remain unresolved.
Kotick said that Hines is the right person that will help the company commit to a diverse and inclusive work environments. Kotick has also noted Hines' success in similar roles at other companies. Kotick also hopes that Hines will help the company "build a model workplace aligned with [their] values."
Activision expressed their hopes that Hines will collaborate with company's leadership team and its Employee Resource Groups as they implement programs that promote a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace environment. The work will also include working with gaming teams to work on inclusive perspectives in game design, including storylines, character development, gameplay, and community interaction.
Last year, Activision Blizzard committed to diversifying its employees. They have also pledged to include increasing their female and non-binary staff by 50% for the next five years.
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Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by Fred Layno
