For several decades, the gaming industry has had something of a reputation for being a boys-only club – a sector dominated by male developers and game publishers inspired to design and build games for a male-dominated demographic.
It’s encouraging to see that this stereotype is finally beginning to phase itself out, as more women are taking up the mantle of creating new gaming worlds and experiences. Some 50 years ago, there was only one female believed to be working in game design. Fast forward to the present day and that figure is estimated to be over 25% of the industry’s workforce – at least that’s according to a 2015 report from the International Game Developers Association.
The impact of women in the world of gaming
VentureBeat published a list of 20 influential women in gaming that we should be aware of. One such figure is Maria Alegre, who is the co-founder and CEO of Chartboost, a platform designed to help native mobile app developers find new ways of publishing their games beyond the traditional mobile gaming networks. Alegre and her team are continually looking for new ways to change the dynamics for mobile game developers, with their Helium tool empowering innovative developers to get true value for their ad impressions.
When it comes to women in gaming who are going against the status quo, Tina Amini will be an inspiration to many of today’s female gamers. The Editor in Chief of IGN Games, Tina has been in the games journalism industry for over a decade. She started out reviewing video games for the likes of Kotaku and Complex before graduating to bigger online media outlets such as Mashable and, lately, IGN Entertainment. Amini is a real talent and has a genuine eye for what sells in the gaming industry today, regularly featuring as a guest speaker at leading seminars like the Games Beat Summit.
Of course, there’s also Amy Hennig, who has been one of the few female video game developers in mainstream gaming. Hennig has the likes of Electronic Arts (EA), Nintendo and Eidos Interactive on her CV, but her most impressive accomplishment was being the brains behind the award-winning Uncharted video game series. It’s these action-adventure games that have helped inspire online slot developers to build more immersive slot titles, taking players on a journey as opposed to simply clicking the spin button.
Gaming communities that foster a sense of female togetherness
As many of you know, for us, every day is ladies’ day. We’ve always done our best to create an online gaming community that makes women feel appreciated. It all starts with our chat hosts. Our bingo chat rooms are the beating heart of the 888ladies.com community. A place where players can become friends. Our chat hosts make every new player feel welcome, providing guidance and support for their bingo gaming, and celebrating their successes.
Of course, the 888ladies.com community isn’t just about bringing women together – it’s about giving them access to the absolute best bingo games and slots too. That’s why we’ve teamed up with top-rated slot and bingo software developers to provide the most engrossing video slots, as well as innovative bingo variants like Slingo and 5 Line Bingo. Just because we’re a female-oriented community doesn’t mean our players will only like games that would be considered stereotypically feminine. We’ve packed our portfolio of slots with gender-neutral titles too, like Tiki Fruits and Fortunium, because everyone likes going on beach holidays and little pieces of history!
Influential women in the world of digital media
It’s not just in the world of gaming where women are having a more influential impact. There are a growing number of women in senior positions within some of the biggest digital media brands that we consume content from on a daily basis. Google’s current VP of Search Product and User Experience is Marissa Mayer, a woman that was crowned a “visionary” by Glamour Magazine. Although Mayer says that she is “the stereotype” when it comes to computer science boffins, she insists she “breaks the stereotype” by being a female.
Even in the world of television, it’s becoming increasingly more of a women’s world. Screenwriter Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has become one of the most successful Netflix producers to date, penning and shooting the hugely popular series The Witcher. The Witcher was originally a successful action RPG video game, released on the PC and then games consoles. It’s heartening to see that female producers like Hissrich have their fingers firmly on the pulse of the gaming industry when it comes to creative inspiration for other avenues as well.
Hissrich is also proof that women aren’t becoming successful media creators with the sole intention of making accessible media for women only. The Witcher is a somewhat dark, mysterious medieval fantasy world that appeals to viewers of various demographics. Nevertheless, it just goes to show that these worlds shouldn’t be reserved for male consumption – and that gender no longer forms a barrier to great content, whether that be creating it or consuming it.
Long may the rise of women in media continue. We hope that more millennial and Gen Z females will take up the baton of content creation, with the freedom to choose what makes engaging entertainment for all, not narrow-minded demographics.
