"It Can't Be All White Males," EA Exec Says About Diversity in Gaming

Electronic Arts is actively looking to increase the diversity of its workforce because "it can't all be white males." Chief operating officer Peter Moore says in a new interview with Fortune that EA has specifically made this a focus over the past few years.

"We all need to step back sometimes and think about the environments we create for our people, the opportunities we create for people internally, and equally importantly how you bring new blood into the company," Moore said. "It can't all be white males. As a result, I think that hiring managers at EA over the last couple of years have had a sharper focus on diversity. I know that my teams around the world have."

Moore's career in the industry began in early 1999, and he says he's seen "incredible growth" in the number of female game developers since then. At EA specifically, The Sims development team is made up of about 40 percent women. The developer's mobile team also has a "large female development presence."

Women in high-profile positions at EA include Sara Jansson (Mirror's Edge: Catalyst executive producer), Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir (senior producer for Star Wars Battlefront), Rachel Franklin (The Sims 4 executive producer), Samantha Ryan (EA mobile boss), Amy Hennig (untitled Star Wars project), and Jade Raymond (studio head of EA's new Motive division).

“We've gone from the personification of what we believe women should look like in a video game, to actually involving women in making video games, to today where at Electronic Arts we have some of our most powerful franchises overseen by women who manage hundreds of men," Moore said.

Also in the interview, Moore reveals that EA recently brought more than 30 high school girls to its campus in the Bay Area for a seven-week Girls Who Code program.

Moore also cited FIFA 16's inclusion of women's teams for the first time. He said data suggests that only 15 percent of FIFA players are female, but he expects this to rise with FIFA 16 and eventually FIFA 17.

"We've invested heavily to get them in the game and we'll continue to build on this moving forward with future games," Moore said. "We had the success with the U.S. team winning the FIFA World Cup this year, and I'd argue more Americans can name members of the women's soccer team than the men's."