According to statistics shared by Microsoft’s Xbox Team, women make up only 24% of the workforce at large tech companies, and in gaming, women are also underrepresented. This is despite 45% of all gamers identifying as women.
As part of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Microsoft’s Xbox team has launched an new mentorship initiative – with an ambition to “uplift and support the next generation of women in gaming”.
As a champion and member of the fellowship of the Women of Xbox UK initiative, I had the opportunity to help connect the community of women who work across our UK studios. This includes game designers, engineers, audio/sound experts, and producers to share their knowledge and experience with young women encouraging them to pursue a career in the gaming industry. One of the greatest joys I have found through mentoring other women is what I call the “Leveling up Moment” — when the culmination of their hard work and resilience meets with breakthrough and success.
By increasing diversity and representation in the people who make games, we can create new and unique gaming experiences for everyone. While there is more work to do, at Xbox we are proud that women make up over half of our gaming leadership team and are forging the future of gaming and at Microsoft, women now represent 29.7% of the core global workforce. This is also true of my team at Rare, where half of our design and production team are women because of our investment in making inclusivity and diversity core to how we build teams, and we remain committed to this goal. It’s also imperative to continue to support women once they’re part of the industry, and at Xbox, the Women in Gaming group provides career development, networking opportunities, mentoring and more to encourage retention.
Mentorship and leading from a place of empathy encourages a culture of women uplifting and supporting other women, and I hope to inspire others to do the same. Xbox is committed to building a community where everyone is welcome to play, and to creating a space where it is safe to do so. It is in this spirit of mentorship that we hope to see more women become part of the games industry so that they can see themselves as the hero in the games they play and in their own lives.
Louise O’Connor – Executive Producer at Rare
Initiatives being introduced by the Xbox team during International Women’s Day, Women’s History Month and beyond include:
Connect and Impact: Mentoring Program at Xbox
Introducing a mentoring program for everyone aimed at partnering women in gaming careers across Xbox’s diverse range of studios and products with aspiring talent, giving them the chance to access to valuable 1:1 coaching sessions with key leaders in select markets such as the US, UK, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, and Korea with additional markets to follow.
It is our hope that this program generates meaningful engagements with tangible and purposeful actions to help foster career development in the games industry. With the program available in multiple markets kicking off this month, Xbox is opening up their world to inspire and support the next generation of women leaders in gaming. More details will follow mid- March.
Game Developers Conference 2022: Inclusive Leadership @ Xbox Game Studios
These pre-recorded sessions will be held 23-24 March. Viewers will be invited to watch a panel of tech leaders at Xbox Game Studios, as they share their career journeys and lived experiences at Xbox during the upcoming Game Developers Conference. The session includes Mary McGuane, Xbox studio manager (Obsidian, Double Fine and InXile); Kate Rayner, head of technology for The Coalition; Shannon Loftis, former studio head for World’s Edge; Helen Chiang, corporate vice `president, Minecraft franchise; Kim Swift, senior director of Cloud Gaming at Xbox Game Studios Publishing; and Bonnie Ross, studio head for 343 Industries.
Microsoft Rewards on Xbox to provide opportunities to donate to organisations supporting women in gaming.
Microsoft Rewards members in the United States can earn and donate points to organizations supporting women in gaming with Xbox. The below organizations will be featured on console throughout March:
- Girls Who Code: Girls Who Code is a non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in tech by equipping students who identify as girls or nonbinary with the necessary computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities.
- Games & Online Harassment Hotline (via Feminist Frequency): The Games and Online Harassment Hotline is a free, text message-based, confidential emotional support hotline, created specifically for the gaming community. Whether you’re a player, a developer, a streamer, a competitor — any part of this community —we’re here for you, whether that means offering emotional support or finding the referrals and resources that you need.
- ReDI School of Digital Integration: ReDI School of Digital Integration is a non-profit tech school for people, mainly refugees and migrants, without access to digital education to support them on their integration journey, including upskilling-programs for women, children and teens.
- PretaLab: PretaLab’s mission is to work toward diversity and inclusion in the Technology sector, promoting the employability of Black Brazilian women through a platform that connects Black women in technology and companies.
Xbox Ambassadors Spotlights Stories about Representation in Gaming
Throughout Women’s History Month, Xbox will be spotlighting stories bout representation in gaming from women gamers in the Xbox Ambassadors community. These are their stories.
Xbox Plays will feature women streamers, game creators and non-profits
Throughout March, the Xbox Plays team will be streaming on the Xbox Twitch channel and feature programming celebrating Women’s History Month. Each week will have a different theme, featuring Women Streamer Takeovers, Women Game Creators and showcase nonprofit organizations supporting women to pursue technology and gaming as careers.
Gears of War 5 Women’s Tournament
The fifth quarterly Gears 5 Women’s Tournament will take place on Saturday, March 26. Everyone is invited to watch 32 of the best all-women teams in Gears 5 as they battle it out for $5,000 in prizing
“Women of Xbox UK” Podcast
The “Women of Xbox UK” Podcast will be returning for Season 2 this year, with a brand-new line up of empowering and inspirational leaders. The podcast will continue to spotlight phenomenally talented women from a wide spectrum of roles within the games industry that work closely on Xbox first- and third-party titles, with the aim to encourage young women to start or further a career within the games industry.
These are just some of the many initiatives, projects and programs announced by Microsoft’s Xbox Team. Keen an eye out on their social media channels for more information in the coming days, weeks and months.
