(Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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.
"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."
Updated March 24, 2023 at 2:38 p.m. ET to remove video clip. After the report aired, Activision offered additional information to clarify that the company increased gender diversity in December 2022 by a fraction of a percentage and 2 percent year-over-year.
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
Chris Ruder, Spikeball Founder and CEO, explains how he and his friends put roundnet on the global map, plus, how Spikeball helps people "find their circle."
J.W. Roth, CEO of Venu Holding Corporation, discusses the company's IPO and plans to redefine live music entertainment with their fan founded, fan-owned model.
Variety's Clayton Davis discusses why more than just the 1% are struggling after the LA fires. Plus, how awards shows will pivot to help victims. Watch!
Emily Hosie, CEO of Rebelstork, explains the concept of Returns Recommerce, plus how her company raised $18M to address the industry-wide issue of returns.
