Intel plans to spend US$300m on promoting diversity and inclusivity as part of a "Diversity in Technology" initiative at the company.

As outlined on Intel’s website, the money will be used to build a team of female and under-represented engineers and computer scientists, to actively support hiring and retaining more women and under-represented minorities, and to fund programs to support more positive representation within the technology and gaming industries.

"It's not good enough to say we value diversity, and then have our industry not fully represent," said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich at his keynote at CES yesterday.

"This isn't just good business. This is the right thing to do."

To support the initiative, Intel has set a new hiring and retention goal: to achieve full representation of women and under-represented minorities at Intel by 2020.

According to the company, ‘full representation’ means Intel’s US workforce will be more representative of the talent available in America, and will include a more balanced representation in senior leadership positions.

"We're calling on our industry to again make the seemingly impossible possible by making a commitment to real change and clarity in our goals," said Krzanich.

"Without a workforce that more closely mirrors the population, we are missing opportunities, including not understanding and designing for our own customers."

To achieve these goals, Intel intends to partner with the International Game Developers Association, the E-Sports League, the National Center for Women in Technology, the CyberSmile Foundation, Feminist Frequency, and Rainbow PUSH.

The company also plans to deepen its engagement with primary education programs focused on underserved areas and expanding its collaborations with computer science and engineering programs at higher education institutions, including minority-serving institutions.

The initiative is a clear response to the GamerGate fiasco the company found itself embroiled in last year, when pressure from GamerGate members saw Intel remove ads from industry site Gamasutra.

"We recognize that our action inadvertently created a perception that we are somehow taking sides in an increasingly bitter debate in the gaming community," Intel said in a statement at the time. "That was not our intent, and that is not the case. When it comes to our support of equality and women, we want to be very clear: Intel believes men and women should be treated the same.

"And, diversity is an integral part of our corporate strategy and vision with commitments to improve the diversity of our workforce," it continued. "And while we respect the right of individuals to have their personal beliefs and values, Intel does not support any organisation or movement that discriminates against women. We apologise and we are deeply sorry if we offended anyone."