TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, said today that if the games industry was to recruit a more diverse workforce then more girls in schools and women in colleges and universities should be supported and encouraged to study courses relevant to the industry. There was also a need to profile the games industry as a potential career choice in schools and higher education. TIGA made the comments following a statement by Lynne Featherstone MP, Minister for Equalities, that some companies “risk being uncompetitive” if they did not address the gender imbalance in the games industry. The Minister made the comments in a statement to the Women in Games strand at the Develop conference in Brighton.
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said:
“The 2010 TIGA-Hewitt Games Software Developers’ Salary Survey shows that just 6.6 per cent of the workforce is female. This is an extraordinary gender imbalance. The video games industry would like to recruit a more diverse workforce. If we are to recruit a more diverse workforce then we need to encourage more women to both study courses relevant to the games industry and to highlight the career opportunities that exist in the sector. TIGA produces a career guide for this purpose. We hope that the Government will work with TIGA to champion the games industry as a potential career path.”
About 15 per cent of T2G students are female. Approximately 10 per cent of students on a typical university games course are female. The proportion of HE graduates studying computer science in 2006/7 that were women was just over 17 per cent.
Wilson added:
“All games businesses must ensure that their selection and recruitment policies and practices promote equal opportunities and recruit on merit.”