THE GAMES industry is no longer just for boys.
Leamington College has reported a major shift in gender balance for games art courses and for the first time is seeing its student intake move away from being male-dominated.
The gender diversity on its games art and design course has changed dramatically over the last three years and by next year it is expected women will outnumber men.
UK Interactive Entertainment is the trade body for the UK games and interactive entertainment industry.
UKie’s Diversity Report revealed the percentage of females in the games industry increased to 30 per cent in 2022, while the percentage of women in senior and leadership roles has increased to 22 per cent.
Adam Cox, subject lead for games art at Leamington College, thinks the change was being driven by inspiring female leaders and the reputation games studios have as positive places to work.
He said: “The video game industry has been historically a male-dominated industry, however it is clear that trend is changing from our student intake in the last few years.
“Changing the culture in games and encouraging a more diverse range of people to join the industry has been a hot topic for many years.
“We are starting now to see a lot of strong females in leadership roles, and you look at new start-up companies like Maverick Games here in Leamington which have major female representation in its leadership team.
“When you combine that with the work that schools, colleges and the wider games industry is doing to highlight opportunities to people from different backgrounds, it is all contributing to the change in trends.
“The atmosphere of working in the games industry and that sense of community is definitely something that is leading more people into the industry.
“We’ve been working to promote diversity in the sector too, including mentorship schemes and organising all-female panels at industry events.”
