Activision Blizzard Adds Women To Board. Will Bro Culture Change?

The giant Californian publisher of videogames like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft announced yesterday it is adding a woman to its board. It previously had eight men and two women. Activision also announced it will be nominating a second new female director at its upcoming annual shareholder meeting.

Activision’s announcement comes in the wake of a lawsuit by the State of California alleging gender discrimination, sexual harassment and unequal pay and a lawsuit by Activision investors, claiming they were left in the dark about the severity of the toxic workplace culture allegations.

Will appointing these women to Activision board change the culture? Here are some things to look out for:

Is Activision Replacing Men Or Just Adding Seats To Accommodate The New Women?

Companies that just want to “check the box” on board diversity often create new seats for the women they appoint, to avoid replacing the old (male) guard of directors. At present, Lucy Meservey appears as an addition to the board, bringing it from 10 to 11 directors. According to Activision’s press release, two male directors are stepping down: “Hendrik J. Hartong III and Casey Wasserman have chosen not to stand for re-election at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Their service as directors will conclude upon the election of directors at the 2022 Annual Meeting.” So, it appears that the two new women are indeed replacing men on the board, which improves their chances at influencing the board.

Are Female Directors Chairing Meaningful Board Committees?

The most important work on a board is done by three committees: the Audit, Compensation and Nomination committees. So, when a female director chairs one of these, it’s a strong indicator of a company seriousness about giving women power and influence. At Activision, only Reveta Bowers sits on a powerful committee (Audit), but as a member, not committee chair. Activision’s two other most powerful board committees are all-male. That’s not a good sign of Activision’s commitment to giving its female directors the power and influence to shake things up.

In November 2021, Activision created a Workplace Responsibility Committee, charged with overseeing “the Company’s progress in successfully implementing its new policies, procedures, and commitments to improve workplace culture and eliminate all forms of harassment and discrimination.” Not a single male director serves on the committee, but the three female directors do.

Is Activision Also Adding Women Executives?

Companies with more women in the C-suite are more successful in creating a female-friendly culture, research shows. Having more women in executive roles could empower the women on Activision’s board to propose culture changes. Currently, Activision lists 4 women among its fourteen top executives, 3 of which have been appointed in the last fourteen months: Frances F. Townsend as Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer in March 2021. Julie Hodges as new Chief People Officer in September 2021, and Kristin Hines, as Chief Diversity Officer, just last month. The fourth woman on Activision’s executive team is Helaine Klasky, Chief Communications Officer since March 2020.

So, Will These Appointments Change the Bro Culture At Activision Blizzard?

Activision is getting its numbers right. (Adding more women to their boards also helps Activision meet the State of California’s legal requirements that boards with 6 or more directors have at least three women.)

However, Activision seems to have delegated the task of fixing its bro-culture to the women on the board and on its executive team. Having more women in board and C-suite leadership roles is a start but does not guarantee culture change. Strong ties among key actors in an industry, may also result in women protecting men in their networks. The Wall Street Journal, for example, reported that Meta’s Sheryl Sandberg tried to shield Activision CEO Bobby Kotick from media scrutiny around allegations of sexual misconduct.

More importantly, men have a major role to play in creating inclusive workplace cultures. Hopefully, the male leaders at Activision will rise to the occasion. In the meantime, the lawsuits continue, most recently by the family of an employee who alleges that the culture of sexual harassment was a contributing factors in their daughter’s suicide.