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  5. DSM01 – Women in the Games Industry: Organisational, Diversity and Inclusivity Perspectives

DSM01 – Women in the Games Industry: Organisational, Diversity and Inclusivity Perspectives

Supervisors: Dr Yue Meng-Lewis and Dr Richard Godfrey (Department of Strategy and Marketing, The Open University Business School, Faculty of Business and Law).

Project Description:

Despite women’s substantial and important roles in the early development of computer programming, following World War 2 subsequent development of computer technology and games in particular occurred within male dominated fields (Austin, 2022). This has led to a dominant discourse in which games and gaming are seen as male pursuits. This discourse has also come to inform the game development industry: in the UK, some 70% of game developers are male (Taylor, 2020). Not only does this male dominance inform the types of games that are created but also produces discourses within games studios that can reinforce and perpetuate social structures and stereotypes around gender. However, in recent years, with the rise of casual and mobile gaming, more and more women identify as gamers – by 2019, women occupied 45% of the US gaming market (Austin, 2022). Whilst a great deal of research has explored the experience of female gamers, relatively little research within management and organisation studies has explored the experiences of female gaming professionals working in the gaming industry.

Moreover, growing concerns around long working hours, pervasive sexism, and harassment (Darvin et al., 2021; Prescott, 2014) in these male-dominated workplace cultures make it challenging for women to consider entry into gaming careers or to stay within the industry (Kowert et al., 2017; Prescott & Bogg, 2011; Sweetser et al., 2013). Meanwhile, a “glass ceiling” and a limited opportunities for career progression, prevent many women from advancing to senior leadership positions (Darvin, 2021). Despite these challenges, female gaming professionals have demonstrated resilience and determination in their job roles and career progression (Balakina et al., 2022).

Although the creative industries have attempted to improve inclusion through hiring and leadership promotion strategies, significant systemic gender inequalities still widely exist (Szczepanska, 2023). Especially in the games industry, female representation in the UK is significantly below the national average of women in the general workforce and below that in other creative industries (Taylor, 2020).

This research is designed to contribute to management and organisational studies through exploring the experiences of women working in the gaming industry. We welcome research proposals which fit into this broad topic, with particular interests in the following areas:

  • ‘Bro cultures’ and women’s strategies for working in gaming studios
  • Identity work of female gaming professionals
  • Opportunities and challenges for women in career development and progression in the gaming industry
  • Female leadership in the gaming industry
  • Emotional labour practices of female gaming professionals
  • Comparative studies of women’s experiences in gaming industries across different cultural and regional contexts.

Proposed Methodology:

This study could involve multiple sources of data collection including, potentially, both qualitative and quantitative data. Case studies which employ a mixed-methods approach through, for example, face-to-face interviews, focus groups, ethnography, netnography, and questionnaire survey, is encouraged.

References:

Austin, J. (2022). “I suppose I’ll be patching you up, as usual”: Women’s roles and normative femininity in a team-based video game. New Media & Society, 24(5), 1116-1132.

Balakina, D., Serada, A., & Schott, G. (2022, November). From the cradle to battle: What shapes the careers of female CS: GO esports players. In Proceedings of the 25th International Academic Mindtrek Conference (pp. 41-52).

Darvin, L., Holden, J., Wells, J., & Baker, T. (2021). Breaking the glass monitor: Examining the underrepresentation of women in esports environments. Sport Management Review, 24(3), 475-499.

Hurajová, A., Slezák, A., & Hladíková, V. (2023). Women in the World of Digital Games: The Case of Slovakia. Acta Ludologica, 6(2), 92-115.

Kowert, R., Breuer, J., & Quandt, T. (2017). Women are from FarmVille, men are from ViceCity: The cycle of exclusion and sexism in video game content and culture. In New perspectives on the social aspects of digital gaming (pp. 136-150). Routledge.

Prescott, J., & Bogg, J. (2011). Career attitudes of men and women working in the computer games industry. Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture, 5(1), 7-28.

Sweetser, P., Wyeth, P., McMahon, N., & Johnson, D. (2013, September). Female game developers wanted Low pay, long hours, inflexible work environments. In 2013 IEEE International Games Innovation Conference (IGIC) (pp. 243-249). IEEE.

Szczepanska, A. M. (2023). Women's inclusion and neoliberal governmentality in the Swedish digital game industry: An analysis of discursive positions and recruitment strategies. Gender, Work & Organization, 30(3), 842-861.

Taylor, M. (2020). UK games industry census: Understanding diversity in the UK games industry workforce. Retrieved January 3, 2025, from https://ukie.org.uk/UK-games-industry-census-2020