Empowering Women in the Video Game Industry: My Journey

When I first took the plunge into the games industry in early 2023, it turned out to be a little different to my expectations. I assumed I would be walking into a modern, idyllic landscape where equality was a non-issue and everyone worked together on an even playing field - wow was I wrong!

Misconceptions and Realities: A Personal Reflection

I may have been living in dreamland but I was expecting great things. I was diving into the games industry feet first after 10 years within the accounting & finance sector. The world of video games appears so shiny, exciting and cool to an outsider, especially compared to my previous world! How could there be the same level of preferential treatment given to men over women that I’d seen so often in the past? I thought that with a community so young, vibrant and at the cutting edge of technology, surely that wouldn’t be the case.

Turns out the “young” element of the industry is partly to blame. It’s not necessarily the average age of the workforce, but the age of the industry itself. Without question, the industry is underdeveloped in terms of culture and standardised practices leading to major issues that need to be addressed. Its early origins began between very few people in close-knit groups, with a vast number of those people being men. This meant they had held the majority of the influence and power over the years. When only a few players hold the majority of the strongest cards there isn’t ever going to be a fair game.

Unveiling Industry Challenges: The Present Realities

In typical fashion misogynistic views and lack of opportunities for women were inherently passed on as the industry continued to grow. Although there may not always be a conscious bias towards men, there is often no getting around an inbuilt preference towards them. Particularly when looking at the more corporate end of the scale or even in smaller studios backed by private equity firms. Where funding and investment are involved to any degree there is more often than not a board table filled with identical faces sitting around it (are we all picturing that one scene from the Barbie movie? I thought so!).

After researching the ridiculous gender imbalance (61% men to 30% women) and learning of other issues affecting women in the industry such as the gender pay gap, I asked myself what on earth is going on here? and what is being done about it?

Initiatives Driving Change: A Roadmap Towards Equality

Through some brilliant conversations with the community and becoming a member of Women In Games, I’ve learnt that there are plenty of efforts being made with hopes of making a real difference in the present and future:

Early Age Encouragement - Recent evidence showing that girls become far less interested in STEM subjects somewhere between the ages of 11-15 is thought to play a major part in why the games industry gender gap is so large. With this in mind schools and universities are doing their best to increase the uptake of relevant courses and organisations like UKIE are offering student memberships to engage with young people who show an interest in the field.

Mentor Schemes - The games industry is one of the best I have come across for sharing wisdom and offering advice. You only have to take a quick scroll of social media to find people offering their time and support, plus fantastic organisations like Limit Break offer partnerships to underrepresented groups with established professionals willing to help.

Raising awareness - Organisations like Women In Games are here for this very purpose. Their Manifesto sheds light on the reasons why increasing female representation in games is so important, and the development of formal documents such as The Guide: Building A Fair Playing Field gives resources to companies looking to make a difference.

Supporting Each Other - Regular conferences, seminars and networking events help build and strengthen the female community within the industry. Women In Games International is another notable example of a community with balances the gender split at its heart, along with events hosted by game studios themselves in efforts to address the issue on a local level.

Embracing the Call: My Commitment to Gender Balance

In the process of becoming a WIG Ambassador, I was asked to agree to play an active role in the effort to bring gender balance to the games community. Since signing the pledge I’ve felt a strong urge to contribute too. This is something I’m truly passionate about, but as someone with little industry experience, I wondered how could I possibly make a difference.

After I set myself the task of figuring out what might make a young girl interested in taking a step towards a career in games, I stopped and realised that I didn’t need to mull this over much more. I may not be as young, but I AM a woman who is very much interested in having a thriving career in the games industry. I may not be a developer, artist, or game designer extraordinaire… what I am is an accountant turned recruiter, and hey, the games industry still needs people like me! The industry also needs lawyers, administrators, HR, and marketing to name a few more key roles. These are all essential parts of the industry that should be valued and that can contribute to balancing that gender ratio.

From Numbers to Narratives: Sharing Success Stories and Shaping Futures

So instead, I took some time to think about what inspires me to keep pursuing a career in this industry. The answer is simple, it's hearing stories of other successful women. This laser-focused my goal: To share stories of successful female leaders across the games industry to inspire the next generation to join them. Whatever their discipline, whatever their career path, if they are women making an effort to lead the way in their field, their story deserves to be heard and may encourage another woman to join them.

I’ve always been excited and fascinated by the fact that someone can take an idea and turn it into a profitable company. It’s the very reason I became an accountant in the first place. As I moved through my career I came to realise that it wasn’t just the numbers on the bottom line that got me excited, it was the people it took to get the business there - the leadership, creativity, vision, and often the resilience.

Celebrating Women's Leadership: Inspiring Stories and Trailblazers

As women, we usually have to jump through several more hoops than the average male to end up in the same place (and that's not even taking into consideration how many more hoops it is for women of the global majority!) Regardless of this some of us still manage to raise the bar, raise the stakes and make it to the very top. Superstars in the industry such as Carol Shaw (The First Woman Game Programmer and Designer) and Jade Raymond (who’s responsible for the first Assassin’s Creed) are inspirations to many of us, but there are many more stories out there to be heard.

Whether you have managed to beat the odds and make it to the leadership team, continued to educate yourself throughout your career to become an expert in your field, or had the strength of the female reproductive system (because the reality is the male counterpart is quite soft and delicate!) to become the founder of your studio, you are a true inspiration and your success and efforts should be celebrated.

Join the Movement: Your Story Matters

My own story within the games industry has only just begun and I found myself here by accident to be perfectly honest! When my partner set up his recruitment agency last year we then felt there was an opportunity not to be missed - Combining his experience of technical and creative roles with my own experience of finance recruiting and knowledge of the need for ‘‘back-office” staff would give a great 360 service - as I say, it takes more than one discipline to build a successful games studio! From speaking with many of you over the past year I’m aware that I’m not the only one who wasn’t planning this journey into video games but like so many others, the industry has well and truly GOT ME and I’ve fallen head over heels for it.

I’m looking forward to meeting more of you during 2024 and hearing so many of your inspiring stories - come say hello and feel free to suggest a time for a coffee and a natter! If you would like to take part in my new series: The Women Leading The Way In Video Games so that your story can be heard, please feel get in touch at Stephanie@lab8recruitment.com