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International Women's Day 2020: Six women in gaming share how they got into the industry

Celebrating the women in our industry

International Women's Day 2020: Six women in gaming share how they got into the industry

This week at PocketGamer.biz, we've taken the opportunity to champion women in the games industry through our Women In Gaming series, building up to today, International Women's Day.

We spoke to just six of the amazing women working in our industry across a number of disciplines, including game design, production, and community management, and today we're bringing all our stories together in one place so you can easily find and read them all.

There's brilliant insights within each interview, on subjects like getting into the industry, the challenges women face when working in games, and the ways in which companies can improve diversity in their teams - and why its necessary for them to do so.

We'll include just one answer from each of our profiles in this article, but make sure you check out the full interviews to get the whole story from each participant.

And we'd like to take the opportunity to once again thank everyone who took part in these interviews for giving up their time to tell us about their work - without them, none of this would have been possible.


Click here to view the list »
  • Alanah Pearce - Rooster Teeth

    Alanah Pearce - Rooster Teeth logo

    What do you find are the most common misconceptions, public or professional, about women working games?

    I think I still get told on a daily basis that I'm only successful because of the way that I look, when the men around me, who in some instances haven't worked half as hard or had half the experience I have had and yet have had more success than I have, have never been told that.

    The reception to women in games has gotten far, far better over the near-10 years I've been working in the field, but the absolute misconception that I don't deserve my job has never gone away.

    Read the full interview here.


  • Victoria Tran - Kitfox Games

    Victoria Tran - Kitfox Games logo

    What do you think needs to happen over the next few years to help push diversity in the industry further?

    A lot, probably. What I will say is that signal boosting is good and appreciated, however we need more than just a massive chain of tweets shouting us all out.

    Buy the games we make! Fund initiatives that help marginalised genders further their careers. Give career advancement but also retainment. Provide us positions of power, and not in a glass cliff sort of situation.

    Read the full interview here.


  • Lucy Smith - Sumo Games

    Lucy Smith - Sumo Games logo

    What part of your role do you find most fulfilling?

    I don't think there's one thing I could say as there are so many aspects of my job I find fulfilling. If I had to choose, I would say I love being in a collaborative environment where everyone shares the same vision.

    Feeling that sense of accomplishment and challenge when working on our tasks is great as there's always an opportunity to learn something new along the way. We all support and work together as a team and it's great to be a part of this.

    Read the full interview here.


  • Caoimhe Roddy - Girls' Games Labs/Chucklefish

    Caoimhe Roddy - Girls' Games Labs/Chucklefish logo

    Is there anything about the job/industry you wish you would have known when first joining?

    I wish I had been told to use events to make friends rather than network and gain industry connections and allies for work/business purposes. This particular kind of networking is drilled into students in quite a cold way, and it's reinforced by a lot of people in the industry.

    This has subsequently meant I’ve previously been exhausted and a little burned out by conferences. I'm taking a break this year, but I've learned from the prior one to utilise the events more to meet with friends I don't see too often. Last year I developed a much healthier mindset towards going to conferences and get a lot more from them without exhausting myself.

    Read the full interview here.


  • Verónica Miñano - Kwalee

    Verónica Miñano - Kwalee logo

    What do you find are the most common misconceptions, public or professional, about women working in games?

    The biggest issue is that when people tend to think of games - whether playing them or developing them – they think of men and boys, not women and girls. People assume there won't be many women working in games companies, which is of course grounded in some truth and remains a stark reality at some studios. However, most now thankfully recognise that it shouldn't be this way and great strides are being taken to change things.

    When I joined Kwalee, I was one of only two women in what was approximately a 20-person office. We recognised that this needed to change and the situation has now changed dramatically with a lot of really talented women working across nearly every department.

    Kwalee has grown to over 73 staff, but we're proud that the number of women here has massively grown too, and is something we continue to strive towards. The industry as a whole is now recognising this too, with advocacy groups like Women in Games (which some of Kwalee's great women are getting involved with) doing great work to push things even further.

    Read the full interview here.


  • Julia Hardy - BBC/Freelance presenter

    Julia Hardy - BBC/Freelance presenter logo

    What part of your role do you find most fulfilling?

    When you finish a really complicated live stream and you spend the next half hour riding some pretty fun adrenaline. Best bit though is when I know something I have done has made someone's life better. Even by a small percentage.

    I'm pretty honest about my life's struggles and have made content around it, so meeting people who have found it comforting or useful is the best 'thank you' I ever get. This job has given me that platform to make more of a difference.

    Read the full interview here.


Editor

Ric is the Editor of PocketGamer.biz, having started out as a Staff Writer on the site back in 2015. He received an honourable mention in both the MCV and Develop 30 Under 30 lists in 2016 and refuses to let anyone forget about it.