If it isn’t obvious yet, we at Bitch Team Alpha do not support #gamergate. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s have a conversation about how to help by promoting women in gaming, games journalism, and games media.
What I don’t want to do is rehash the history of #gamergate. There are so many great summaries out there already that talk about the harassment of women throughout this movement, that I don’t feel the need to waste my time or breath talking about the negative.
Harassment of Brianna Wu
If you need to get caught up on the issue, I would recommend reading this article on Time, which is actually a very thorough history, and if you want to listen to a positive and inspirational interview with Brianna Wu about diversity in games and her history as a developer, have a listen to our very own Amanda interview Brianna for Ladies of Industry!
What I do want to do is focus on the positive things that you can do to help advance women in the video game industry. I thought about writing an article about #gamergate for a while, but I realized that there are plenty of people speaking out against that movement, and no one really knows what they can do to help. Let’s talk about that instead.
Help Girls Learn to Code
One of the biggest ways to promote women in gaming is to teach the new generation of young girls to code and therefore help give them the agency to create their own games. When women work in games, it only helps to make better games. I’m not talking about getting rid of the games you love – I’m talking about making them better. Studies have consistently proven that diversity in any environment promotes efficiency, innovation, and all-around more amazing products. In fact, here’s one of many articles on the subject, this one written by Harvard Business Review on their study.
One great organization is Girls Who Code. They have programs that teach girls how to code and expose them to different aspects of technology to encourage that process. In fact, Girls Who Code aims to provide computer science education and exposure to 1 million young women by 2020 (taken from their website here).
Some interesting facts taken from their website:
- In middle school, 74% of girls express interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), but when choosing a college major, just 0.3% of high school girls select computer science.
- 100% of [their] 2012 program participants report that they are definitely or more likely to major in computer science following the program.
- In a room full of 25 engineers, only 3 will be women.
Girls Who Code is an organization worthy of your time OR money. If you are interested in being a teacher for one of their programs, you can apply here, or if you simply want to donate to their cause, you may do so on their main page here.
On the same side of the coin as Girls Who Code is Girls Make Games. These ladies run international camps, game jams, and more to encourage young women to learn to make video games. You can read about their mission here, which includes some interesting facts such as:
- 47% of gamers are women.
- Only 12% of the gaming industry is made up of women.
If you would like to donate to this worthy organization, their donation link is here. Also, our own Ladies of Industry podcast will have an interview with the leaders of Girls Make Games in the near future, so be sure to keep your eye out for that!
Help Geek Girls Express Themselves
There are also many organizations that focus on promoting women in all areas of geek culture (including video and board gaming). These organizations, conventions, and meetups strongly promote the inclusion of women (as well as other minorities) in gaming, comics, movies, tv, cosplay, books, and more. Events like these are crucial to making women, teenage girls, and even young girls feel welcome in these areas, and are a haven in an otherwise sometimes hostile environment.
Geek Girl Con in Seattle is an amazing, growing convention taking place in October in Seattle every year. There are so many ways you can help out with this convention next year. Plan a panel! Host a workshop! Donate to keep it running! Volunteer your time to help this non-profit out! I went to my first Geek Girl Con this year, and I plan on going back every year. I made some amazing friends, saw amazing things, and felt so inspired.
There are MANY more local organizations that have similar goals depending on your city. There are too many to list here individually, but here is a small list of a few in some of the major US cities:
New York
Portland
- ChickTech (based in Portland, but has a chapter in San Francisco as well)
Austin
Seattle
Don’t forget about other avenues, as well! There are more and more games on Kickstarter made by women and looking for funding every day. If you want to see more games made by women, one of the best ways is to support games being made by women.
Do you own a blog? Write about games that women make! Often, games made by women don’t receive enough attention. Boost that signal! If you loved a game that was made by a woman, tell everyone you know. Make a Let’s Play of a diverse and awesome game. As these games gain popularity, it will work to help change the industry as a whole.
Are you a lady with a skill that can be used in video games (programming, writing, art, etc)? Make a game! Make ANYTHING! Just do it!
Lastly, even if you aren’t a woman, don’t forget that you can still be a feminist. Take a stand for discrimination in all areas. As Anita Sarkeesian said on The Colbert Report last night (you can watch here), if you believe in equal rights for women, you are a feminist.
