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What it is
A fact sheet on gender biases in gaming education and how to prevent and overcome them, drawing on a bottom-up analysis with female students and developers. It shares insightful findings on the role of women in the gaming industry, highlighting both their contributions and the challenges they face. Through interviews and workshops with students, teachers, and industry professionals, the research explores motivators, obstacles, and solutions that can help increase female participation in this traditionally male-dominated field.
What it contains
Part 1 “Women in the Gaming Industry”
Contrary to popular believe based on stereotypes, women make up a significant portion of the gaming community. 46,7% of European game players are women, with a high engagement across various gaming platforms. Women over 35 years old represent 44% of this demographic, and 51% of all smartphone and tablet gamers are female.
Despite this high participation, women are still underrepresented in specific gaming genres and roles. Match-3 games and farm simulators are more likely to have female players, with nearly 70% of gamers in these genres identifying as women. Conversely, tactical shooters and sports games remain predominantly male.
Part 2 “Barriers to Entry”
Women make up only 23,7% of the European gaming workforce, highlighting significant disparities in the industry. The report identifies various barriers that women face in both the educational and professional spheres, such as gender bias, lack of role models, and hostile workplace environments. Harassment, sexism, and unequal pay also discourage many women from pursuing careers in gaming.
The issue is not limited to Europe, as women globally represent just 30% of the gaming workforce. In contrast, countries like the UK and France have made more progress, with 30% and 24% of their gaming industry workforce being female, respectively.
Part 3 “Educational Challenges and STEM Inclusion”
The fact sheet underscores the role of education in closing the gender gap. Female representation in game design programs remains low, with only 35% of applicants in one prominent Finnish university being women. Even within broader STEM fields, female participation remains disproportionate, with women holding only 21% of computer science degrees and 16% of engineering positions.
Addressing this disparity is crucial, as it impacts the creative potential and diversity of perspectives in game development. By limiting opportunities for women, the industry risks missing out on innovative ideas that could lead to more inclusive and successful products.
A Call for Change
The report concludes with potential solutions for overcoming gender-related obstacles in gaming. It calls for the promotion of role models, the development of inclusive educational programs, and the creation of supportive, harassment-free work environments. It also emphasizes the importance of addressing mental health issues and fostering self-confidence in women who aspire to enter the gaming industry.
As the gaming industry continues to grow, ensuring gender equality will not only empower women but also enhance the quality and diversity of games created. The NuGamers fact sheet is a step forward in identifying the gaps and encouraging meaningful change within the gaming community.
Extra: Personas
A service design tool for getting to know your user-base or customers. A persona is a reference model representative of a specific type of user. They provide a fact-based context for who your target group really is and what their needs are. They focus on capturing different behaviours – or in NuGamers, different motivators and challenges behind the person’s decisions. By taking the personas into account, you can create more inclusive solutions.
The Nugamers fact sheet has been developed within the NUGAMERS project by partner Sineglossa (Italy), Changemaker Educations AB (Sweden), All Digital (Belgium), XAMK South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Algebra University College (Croazia). NUGAMERS is a project cofunded by European Union under Erasmus + programme.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
