Women in the Video Game Industry

As males are usually the ones playing video games (or so it’s assumed), it makes sense that guys would make up the majority of the gaming industry. The number of women employed in the field is paltry in comparison. However, the Entertainment Software Association conducted research in 2011 showing the number of females in the industry is on the rise, and women now make up 42 percent of all gamers. Females over the age of 18 are one of the quickest growing gamer demographics. Although video game studies aren’t so prevalent a field yet that there are any PhD options online, dedicated game development education is also growing and seeing an influx of female students. Despite this swelling of the ranks, women still have a hard time finding their way into the professional field of video games. Not only do they remain in the minority, they’re also paid less than their male counterparts.

Females are rarely treated with the same respect as males in the gaming industry, both in online and real-life interactions. Women working in the world of gaming aren’t taken as seriously as men. What continues to makes things even worse is the prevalent portrayal of females in video games: many are dressed in provocative clothing to accentuate extra-large busts, like the archetypal Lara Croft. Tammy Yap, a video game programmer for six years, says she asked one of her male colleagues (she was the only female) why women were always dressed like Vegas show girls. After all, this might offend some women and drive them away from gaming. The reply she received was: “What difference does it make? Women don’t play games.” Her colleague’s retort serves as a good example of the general attitude of most men when it comes to women gamers.

Unfortunately, female gamers aren’t getting their opinions attended to in the video game world. With so few women working in the industry, the video game market is close to being entirely ruled by men. Without having a female representative making her voice heard in the industry, female gamers won’t find as many games that they’re interested in on the market. Famous video game producer Denise Fulton thinks if more women played video games, then more women would start landing jobs in the industry. The consensus is that they would if more games were available that were more appealing to female players.

Playing video games is still branded as a boyish hobby. Women looking to enter the gaming industry already have it tough, but the rate at which they are finding jobs may stagnate if fellow female gamers aren’t willing to step up. Thankfully, this path has already begun being forged by prominent gaming women such as Morgan Webb and Denise Fulton, and indeed the evidence suggests the number of girls playing games is rising. Perceptions are already changing, and it may be only a matter of time before women’s presence in the game industry better reflects their growing numbers among players.