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March is Women’s History month, and of course includes International Women’s Day on the 8th of the month. Amiqus’ Business Manager Liz Prince takes a look at how studios can use the time to celebrate and support the brilliant women working in the industry – and maybe entice more to join us…
Having introduced the G Into Gaming initiative back in 2018 – and, more recently, launching the Empower Up platform as a joint venture with Ukie’s #RaiseTheGame – EDI is hugely important to me personally.
The games industry is making some progress when it comes to some under-represented groups, most notably with neurodivergent individuals and the LGBTQ+ community – but one area where the dial is still not moving significantly is in gender diversity. Latest data from the GDC State of the Industry Report shows that women make up just 23 per cent of developers – that’s just not good enough.
So, Women’s History Month provides an ideal opportunity to show support to those women who are working in games. Here are some meaningful ways you might promote gender equality in the industry …
Highlight Women’s Achievements: Showcase the women working within your own studio via blogs, video interviews, social media posts and more. Not only will this give a welcome boost to the women you highlight, but it will demonstrate to women and girls outside of the industry that games is a great place to work – meaning you will be playing a part in collective efforts to attract more women to the industry.
Host Diversity and Inclusion Workshops: Organising workshops and talks focused on diversity and inclusion can help create a more inclusive work environment. These workshops could cover topics such as unconscious bias, menopause support, creating a supportive company culture, or even just provide an opportunity to ask the women who work in your teams what initiatives they would like to see your studio introduce.
Consider Hiring from Outside of Games: Look at candidates with transferable skills from other industries who could offer value in your studio, particularly in development. This would open the doors to a much more diverse pipeline and encourage women to join us.
Consider Supporting Women in Games: I’m a proud Women in Games Ambassador, and Amiqus is a Corporate Ambassador. The work that the organisation does is impressive, and they are passionate about supporting women working in games – and attracting more to join us. Women in Games is a not-for-profit – and most of its events are free to attend – so you could consider pledging a donation, or becoming a Corporate Ambassador, to supports its on-going work.
Seek Advice & Inspiration: Unashamed plug, but the Empower Up platform will provide you with everything you need to know, from legal obligations to the important dates in the Gender EDI calendar; from the latest news and insights to case studies. There are sections on Gender; Parenting, Childcare & Caring; and much more. This is a pro bono initiative, and we would love you to check it out at empower-up.com and join us on our collective journey to make the games industry a more diverse and inclusive place.
