Gaming is an often-overlooked part of the tech industry, let alone the STEM sectors. We caught up with Rebekah Simpson, Chief of Staff at Playground Games, about why now is the time for women in gaming…
In 2024 we need to keep the momentum going and continue to push for better female representation within the gaming industry. The number of female gamers is continuously increasing. The number of women working in the games industry is up to 30%, however there is still more to do.
Under-representation of women in the games industry has been an issue for decades. It feels as though we are really starting to see the results of the huge amount of work that has been put in by games companies, community enterprises and social groups over the last decade or so.
Why is gaming such a different part of STEM?
I feel game development is a different part of STEM because the industry is as creative as it is STEM focused. This dichotomy provides very different career opportunities, work environment and company culture to some of the industries offering the more traditional STEM roles.
If you’re an Engineer in game development you can work closely with a variety of disciplines including Art, Animation, QA, Design and Audio. The collaborative nature of the industry is one of the best things about working in it.
Women in gaming – what’s the goal?
For Playground Games, we will continue to increase representation of women and more specifically, women in senior positions, particularly in game development.
We have done a huge amount of work increasing the number of women within the business over the last couple of years but we are definitely not complacent! It’s important to ensure we provide career development and promotion opportunities for these women so they choose to stay at Playground Games for the long term.
The plan is to continue to invest in Women@PG, our thriving employee resource group, which provides a real sense of community for its members as well as providing access to training, networking and social events.
We are developing relationships with schools to ensure girls are finding out about the career opportunities in games before they make their subject choices in Year 9.
It’s interesting because whilst video games do introduce girls to STEM subjects such as Maths & Physics oftentimes they don’t know exactly how this translates into a career or where to go to find out more.
More generally, we will continue to support our amazing Women@PG community, women in the industry and current and future female STEM learners.
Discover more about Playground Games here.
See all other WISE members here.