UK games trade body Ukie launches its second UK games industry census to assess workforce diversity.
Similar to its first review in 2019, this year’s census will be conducted by the University of Sheffield and will survey demographics, backgrounds and current roles.
Furthermore, the second census has been expanded to cover areas such as individual working patterns and access needs.
Additionally, supplementary questions have been added to measure trends between the first and second census to measure areas of continuity and change within the workforce diversity portfolio.
Key findings from the first survey showed that 70 per cent of the industry is male.
BAME representation in the industry was 10 per cent, which is slightly higher than the UK average, however, BAME employees are less represented in senior roles.
Ukie aims to reach double the number of participants of its first survey, which reached over 3,200, representing approximately 20 per cent of the UK games industry.
Industry inclusivity inspection
Multiple companies have already committed to partnering with Ukie for the census, including Jagex, Curve Digital, Splash Damage, and nDreams, with more to be announced in the future.
To take part in the census, companies with less than 20 employees can use a public link to respond, whereas companies with 20 employees or more can request a pack from Ukie to distribute between employees.
The deadline for the 2021 census is November 19th, 2021.
"It’s great that the UK games industry is continuing to support independent research on its workforce," said the University of Sheffield’s Dr Mark Taylor.
"The last census allowed us to generate a set of baseline numbers, and this one will allow us to understand how things have changed in the last two years, as well as asking more detailed questions in some areas. With Monday’s launch in parliament of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity report on what works in equality, diversity and inclusion in the creative sector, this work has never been more timely."
Ukie CEO Dr. Jo Twist added: "We strongly encourage everyone working in the UK games industry to take part in the census again. The process is entirely anonymised, and the team at the University of Sheffield are expert in collecting and analysing this kind of critical information across different sectors."
"The first census played a crucial role in understanding what our starting point was as an industry in terms of who we were, and it gave a strong foundation to our sector’s efforts to become more equal, diverse and inclusive. Taking part and publicly backing it from your business will help drive that work forward."
Here at PocketGamer.biz, we ask POC industry professionals to discuss their experiences working in the mobile games industry, such as the issues they face and tips they can give to other POC with aspirations to join the industry. We recently spoke with Supercell marketing specialist Sheila Ndungu about how it feels to stick out in the industry.
