Our Commitment to Action for Racial Equity

At Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax Media and our global family of studios, we unequivocally believe that Black Lives Matter.

Our corporate culture is based on principles of respect, inclusion and fair treatment. We welcome applicants into our family without regard to race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age. And we condemn the systemic discrimination and social injustice that has been part of American life for far too long, and that provides the catalyst for our current civil upheaval. We want our company to be a positive force in fighting these wrongs, and we want to do our part building a better future for all.

We have committed support for #BlackLivesMatter. We will continue unflinchingly to add our voice (or our silence, when appropriate) to the cause, whenever and however we can.

But as we all have seen in the past month, words are not enough. Our collective eyes have been opened to the realities and unfair treatment that people of color face every day, and we must do everything in our power to help.

We can do better. And we will.

We are currently engaged in an active dialogue to examine what we can do to promote greater diversity, racial justice and equality. We don’t yet have all the answers, but we will do the work – to educate ourselves, to promote equity and fairness in everything we do, and to be a more active ally with the Black community.

We are listening to our employees of color and to the wider Black community. We are exploring ways to educate ourselves and our teams. A true desire for change must lead to action. Here are a few concrete steps we will be taking:

• Immediate donation in the amount of $250,000 to The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
• Creating a diversity council to hold us accountable with our focus on diversity and to support our employee-led groups.
• Creating Black and diverse employee-led resource groups (ERGs) to shape our diversity programs and foster an inclusive workplace.
• Recurring and mandatory unconscious bias, sensitivity and allyship trainings for all employees.
• Improved and expanded diversity-based recruiting efforts.
• Ongoing educational programs for all employees to help raise awareness and elevate the dialogue around all forms of inequity and injustice.
• The development of a mentorship program and other leadership initiatives to increase our support of employee members of the Black and diverse communities.
• An annual global service day for all employees, and exploration of additional volunteer efforts to support Black and diverse communities.
• The development of an external mentorship program, where leaders in our organization are fully supported as they speak, volunteer and help elevate the future leaders from Black and diverse communities.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and it will continue to grow as our understanding evolves and as needs arise. Effecting real change in the face of deep-rooted, systemic discrimination will not be easy, but our commitment is unwavering.

Bethesda