Abroader platform: Women in the gaming industry

Successful female role models are helping to attract more women into the industry.

Recent statistics reveal that up to half of game players are women; however, according to the Skillset 2004 census, women only represent 8 per cent of the games workforce. This discrepancy has been noticed by the industry and the major players are going public about the need to broaden the talent base in development and attract a more diverse workforce.

As the games industry grows, so does the need for a wider range of roles within increasingly large development teams. The skills needed to continually innovate often come from outside traditional games education and its specificity to particular production techniques and existent contexts.

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In an arena where technical turnover rapidly spawns new challenges and forces the entire industry to start afresh with each new console release, the ability to learn fast and to think creatively is central to a successful career in games, as is working as part of a team and communicating effectively to get the best results.

One of the barriers to a more gender balanced work force is the perceived nature of games: the image of the “geek gamer” is still being shaken off by industry, because it can put women off considering games as a viable career opportunity. In truth, the games industry is an extremely creative environment in which to work. Although the hours can often be long, the satisfaction of being involved in making games can be significant. This precociously successful young industry is still open enough and small enough to be receptive to new ideas and new talents.

According to the Skillset census, many women in games work in supporting roles, but in 2007 we are starting to see visible role models within the game development and publishing sectors. In development, women such as Paulina Bozek, BAFTA winning senior producer of the SingStar series at Sony, Nicola Bhalerao, senior software engineer at Rare Ltd and Louise Ridgeway, head of animation at the same company and responsible for Viva Piñata among other titles, are leading their fields in building innovative and top-selling titles.

From a more corporate perspective, Sharon Knight, vice president of centralised development at Electronic Arts (EA), has just been relocated to San Francisco to run all internal development at EA. It is increasingly possible to see women taking on central as well as senior roles in the industry. In an area of rapid growth it will be fascinating to track the impact of these women on the range of games brought to the market.

Games are a truly modern media form with a reach that extends far beyond traditional entertainment-based video games. In education, art, communication and social critique, games are increasingly used as a device to positively affect human experience. Many of these applications offer new career opportunities and present exciting challenges for the next generation of games designers. So, as the sector expands, the demand by industry for a wider range of talents will grow for some time to come, and the skills gained through the making and playing of games will continue to be useful outside the games industry.

Emma Westecott is a games research fellow at the University of Wales, Newport. For more information visit www.newport.ac.uk or www.womeningames.com