The breadth and depth of the participation of women in the game industry has generally been under increasingly close scrutiny in recent years. This scrutiny also includes the way women are perceived at, or participate in, trade shows and conventions. Much of this heightened awareness is amplified when hiccups and horror stories — like this, this or even this — make the rounds.
Still, especially with the increased issue awareness and near statistical parity between men and women playing games, the game industry as a whole seems to have put greater focus toward the greater participation of women. Here’s a few news bites from the events corner of the games industry that highlight some of the works-in-progress.
Gen Con 2016
This year, for the first time, Gen Con‘s list of 25 Industry Insiders, who are feature presenters at the popular cross-spectrum gaming con in Indianapolis will be close to even participation between men and women. In fact, 13 of the 25 Industry Insiders will be women.Â
“Five years ago, the ratio of women to men in the Insiders was 1:16 (6.25 percent). Two years ago, it was 4 out of 25 (16 percent)”, says Paizo Games’ Jessica Price, who called attention to this news.
Price adds as further context the value she sees in this major change in industry leaders spotlighted at Gen Con, stating: “… women being recognized as gaming authorities, our work being highlighted, our input being sought, and just our presence in equal numbers with men helps. It relieves the pressure on us as individuals to Speak For All Women In Games. It allows us to be people first and representatives of a demographic second. It normalizes our presence, our expertise and our authority.”
Unity “Woman in Gaming” Workshops
The popular software/game development platform Unity3D has freshly announced a new series of international workshops. Most developers may be familiar with their numerous globe-spanning game development or certification workshops, but this time the focus is on women and their careers in the game industry.
Each of the events will feature prominent, accomplished women in the games business. The stated purpose of the workshops is to take on the complex issues around women’s careers in gaming, while creating networking opportunities to strengthen the connections between women professionals in the games industry.
Five events are planned in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Amsterdam, between June and November 2016. The events will be free and open to the public.
The full post about the workshops is here on Unity’s blog.
MCV’s Women in Game Awards
From workshops to award ceremonies, major United Kingdom-based trade publication MCV has introduced their list of the 30 most influential women game development in the U.K. Among them are leaders from Bethesda Softworks, Warner Brothers and other AAA developers/publishers and indie studios, too.
To top it off, MCV is also celebrating the selection and publication of the list with the Women In Games Awards, to be held in London on Thursday, May 19.
We at Events for Gamers will be keeping an eye out for other news and events from the games industry, as it continues to diversify and open its doors in new and different ways.
