Female percentage of game devs

[Ramzal]

The exact percentage escapes me at the moment, but I recall seeing on MSNBC interview (You know the one) that stated that roughly only 23% of game devs are female. Now I'd be concerned about that percentage is not for the fact that people have choices in what profession they choose to go into. I'm not arguing that the ratio to male to female is low in the dev world, but what I am arguing is:

Why care so much what others choose to do with their professional lives?

Again, people have the right to choose what profession they go into and which ones they do not want to. All this percentage shows to me is that there aren't many women who are interested in a future of game development. And there's nothing wrong with that as there are plenty of other things women can do with their lives be they stay at home mom's/wives, architects, boxers, scientists, farmers, Olympic competitors, workers at dairy queen, constructor workers, no job at all, etc.

Why does there seem to be a thought process that if we complain about it hard enough, more women will suddenly become video game developers? Why can't we just be happy that people have something to do with their lives that make them happy/money? Have you ever considered that maybe not that many women have an interest in game development? When it comes to the mining industry, only 13.2% are women. http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-male-dominated-industries-and-occupations-us-and-canada

Should we also be alarmed by the low percentage there? Just as a side note, this thread isn't about Anita, Gamergate, Zoe Quinn, or any of that stuff. There are plenty of threads talking about that so go to those threads.

 

[The Lunatic]

I honestly have not seen a single source cited when it comes to debates about the percentage of game developers.

It's a bit difficult with the large indie market we have, I suppose.


Also, if you think mining in bad, check the following survey done in 2012.

 

[The Goat Tsar]

I honestly have not seen a single source cited when it comes to debates about the percentage of game developers.

It's a bit difficult with the large indie market we have, I suppose.


Also, if you think mining in bad, check the following survey done in 2012.

Spoiler: Snipped for space

Who knew that the boiler-making industry was a bastion of misogyny? Also, drillers of earth should be a band name.

OT: I don't know if we need more women in game development. I guess it wouldn't hurt? Unless it does. But even as a guy, the video game industry comes off as such a bro club that it even makes me uncomfortable.

All I know is I want to be an elementary school teacher but it feels really weird to want that because I'm a guy. A lot of people close to me feel like I shouldn't follow that path because of that social stigma, it wouldn't be worth the effort. I suspect some women who might want to be game developers could feel that same way. So I feel that in general, gender equality is a good thing because it removes stigmas like that.

 

[Abomination]

Interesting how the one stat smack in the middle is Computer operators.

That being said, 23% is a pretty healthy number for what was at least 10-15 years ago almost an exclusively boys club. Not many other professions have had such a jump in gender participation equality, especially in so short a time.

I feel no moves need to be made at all, let it operate as it does and the market will decide if it wants/needs more females.

 

[PizzaDJCat]

I was a Community Manager/Support Tech at a video game developer company and as an insider I can tell you that there are even more females in the industry. They are working on the graphics and testing, mostly. And there are dozens of girls in the Community and PR Managers field too, but I don't think that's a real part of the development even though as a CM, I was the voice of our gamers on meetings.
For me, it was my dream job to work in the games industry which dream did come true. But I know women who are not there for the games, they just wanted to work somewhere cool and as long as they get the high salary, they will stay.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Why care so much what others choose to do with their professional lives?

In general, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the male:female ratio in technology, and since games are themselves part of the tech industry, it ultimately gets lumped with that. Even non-gaming companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook have been undergoing criticism for the level of diversity (well, lack thereof) in their workplaces.

But saying that this is just a concern about what women are doing with their lives is selling the the complaints short. People are wondering why it is harder for women to get into technology than men and/or why don't women want to go into technology (and STEM fields in general). Part of it has to do with stereotypes surrounding math-based subjects [http://www.academia.edu/806308/The_role_of_stereotype_threats_in_undermining_girls_and_womens_performance_and_interest_in_STEM_fields], and part of it has to do with with various problems within the industries themselves, whether they be subconscious bias [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/technology/exposing-hidden-biases-at-google-to-improve-diversity.html?_r=0] or off-putting behavior [http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/01/27/women-remain-outsiders-video-game-industry/275JKqy3rFylT7TxgPmO3K/story.html]. In other words, it isn't so much a matter of dealing with the choices being made. It is a matter of wondering whether or not we are actively, though likely unknowingly, discouraging women who would otherwise choose to work in the industry from pursuing a career in the industry. Even if they ultimately made the choice to not join the industry, it's hard with the current cultural climate to say that we aren't having a negative influence on that decision-making.

In other words, when there isn't much of a reason to believe that women's decisions aren't entirely being influenced by negative stereotypes and other factors, then asking why people care about their choice would be a more legitimate question. But as of right now it sort of misses the point.

I honestly have not seen a single source cited when it comes to debates about the percentage of game developers.

It's a few years old, but I can't imagine the numbers have changed that much:

According to research by Tiga, the trade body representing the UK games industry, women make up just 12% of the development workforce in Britain - a percentage reflected by similar surveys in the US and Canada.
(Source) [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/dec/08/women-videogames-designing-writing]