How Blizzard more than doubled its female interns in 1 year

The video game community isn’t known for its gender diversity. With women making up just 22 percent of all game developers internationally, the industry really needs to welcome more women into the workforce. One company breaking that mold is Blizzard Entertainment, publisher of games like World of Warcraft and one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2017. By focusing on recruiting women into its paid internship program, Blizzard increased its number of female “Blizzterns” by 166 percent in the past year — from 12 to 32 percent, and plans to bring on even more next year.

Janine Tedford, Blizzard’s Associate Manager of University Relations, likens their gender diversity push to a stampede of penguins sliding down a snowy ice shelf — once the first group of women went for it, an avalanche of other interns followed. Importantly, Janine says, Blizzard’s intern program isn’t just meant to be a stepping stone to another company, but “the destination.” Blizzard often routes interns into the new grad program — where new hires excel, on average getting promoted to the next level faster than other entry-level hires.