Games Campaigner Award Partner
Kim Adcock, OPM
What is the appeal of sponsoring the Women in Games Awards? In a few months I celebrate 30 years working in the games industry and believe me things were quite different in 1992. When I first started in the industry, my supervisor and I were the only two women at ECTS; the first games event I ever went to. Back then, the idea that an event could exist that celebrated women working in games was laughable, there just weren’t enough of us. The incredibly positive changes and evolution into a more diverse industry has everything to do with events and meetups such as the Women in Games Awards.
Why the Games Campaigner Award in particular?
Every cause needs a driving force, and this is exactly what the winner of this award will be. Pushing for change isn’t always easy, especially when the issues are so deeply rooted in society. All past nominees in this category have been brave women that I admire and appreciate. It makes me proud to be associated with this award and I can’t wait to meet the nominees and eventual winner.
How important is it to OPM that the organisation supports the efforts of women working in the games industry? We are at forefront of how the industry makes it’s hires and can see where issues need more work, and where things have changed for the better. I can’t stress enough how important it is that we all get behind events like this, the odds that a young woman will make the decision to give it a go herself in this industry are increased dramatically when they see events that celebrate the brilliant ladies already working in this industry.
Rising Star Award Partner
Scott Barker, Operations Manager at Rocksteady
What is the appeal of sponsoring the Women in Games Awards? Celebrating the role of women in the industry is an important step to having more women in the industry at all levels. Women are underrepresented in parts of the industry, and acting as sponsors is a way for us to give recognition to the great work that women do in our field. Every year we are seeing seniority and representation of the women at Rocksteady improve.
Why the Rising Star Award in particular?
Attracting new people into the industry is one of the most effective ways to change representation. Rocksteady has focused on empowering the best junior staff to gain access to the industry, through hiring more junior staff in 2021 than we ever have done before. The superb rising stars we have found are already making a huge impact.
How important is it to Rocksteady that the studio supports the efforts of women working in games? We need to make a conscious effort to drive awareness on the opportunities available to people, including how to get into the industry in the first place. Inspiring young people to consider games development as a career needs role models and games developers getting into schools to embolden students. We also need to offer the right kind of support to people who already work in games, to ensure that we don’t lose talented women from the workforce. Here at Rocksteady we’ve been focusing on this in particular, with initiatives like 6 months maternity leave on full pay, a returnship programme piloted with WarnerMedia, and putting equity at the heart of our rewards process. Supporting the efforts of the women in games today will hopefully inspire and shape the future generation of tomorrow.
Creative Impact Award Partner
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Minny Abels, Global HR Director, Virtuos
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What is the appeal of sponsoring the Women in Games Awards? We share MCV/DEVELOP’s belief in the importance of recognising and celebrating outstanding women in the games industry. Sponsoring the Women in Games Awards is a way for us to demonstrate our commitment and do our part in increasing diversity and inclusion, both within Virtuos and our wider industry.
Why the Creative Impact award in particular? The Creative Impact award recognises creative achievements in the form of project successes and how nominees supported their teammates to fulfil their potential.
That is a perfect match to our Virtuos purpose of making games better, together.
How important is it that Virtuos supports the efforts of women working in the games industry? We believe that having more women in our company and the industry would lead to more diverse skillsets, perspectives, and the creation of even better games.
At Virtuos, it is our responsibility to not only make games better, but to also help make great places for talent to work and thrive in. Diversity and education are
core values of our corporate social responsibility practice as an equal opportunity employer. We see education as an important pathway towards increased gender equality in the games industry, as it empowers young women and removes a barrier to entry. We are a Women in Games Corporate Ambassador and founding donor to Women in Animation’s Global Fund, contributing to concerted efforts to help make gender equity and parity a lasting reality in the industry.
20 | MCV/DEVELOP February 2022
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