[game_edu] Implications of students going into a male-dominatedindustry?

[Steven Yau]

Thank god. I thought I was the only one thinking this. We shouldn't
shut the door on diversity but at the same time, we shouldn't
encourage to the point on bordering on quotas for a
male/female/diversity ratio.

This has been mentioned before in the education area at Games:Edu a
few years ago where children should be introduced to the possibilities
of what STEM subjects can lead to as early as possible (Secondary/High
school). College/University is far too late and by introducing it
earlier encourage more people of all diversities earlier before they
encounter all the perceptions of the industries.

Steven

On 20 September 2011 09:12, Nathan Runge <contact at nathanrunge.com> wrote:

> Good day all,

>

> I am going to be the person to disagree almost completely. I am not opposed

> to women in games, let me clarify. Nor am I in support of discrimination or

> the poor behaviour sometimes displayed by my contemporaries. Instead, I am

> opposed to many of the measures considered, and differ in my opinion on the

> magnitude of the problem. Firstly, some context: I am a caucasian male in my

> twenties, and I speak from my experiences as a student and a professional

> developer in Australia.

>

> It is a simple and undeniable fact that the vast majority of game

> developers, at least in Australia, are male. To argue otherwise would be an

> untenable position. Viewing this as a 'problem' to be 'fixed' isn't

> required, and nor is it necessarily productive and consistent. The imbalance

> in the industry is simply the fact of the situation, and it being so is not

> causing any harm. In these 'politically correct' times we often strive for

> equal representation in all things, and that simply is never going to be the

> case.

>

> As an industry I feel we need to encourage women to be involved if they are

> so inclined, and remove all significant barriers that might exist, but at

> that point we should consider our role complete. It is our responsibility to

> ensure equal accessibility, but not our right to attempt to enforce quotas

> or ideal ratios. In this same manner, any education must remain focused on

> student outcomes and industry-relevant practice, rather than compromising to

> entice more females into classes.

>

> On the, in my view, more legitimate concern of discrimination within the

> workplace, I think it may be over-stated but it certainly does exist.

> Basically, people are stupid. In my experience I have, very occassionally,

> seen improper interactions between men and women in the workplace. Often, as

> Anthony Hart-Jones has just recently said, the matter can be mostly

> innocuous. In other cases, it can be hurtful or threatening, and I have seen

> this from both men and women. In these cases I believe the legislation

> already exists in most countries, and it is important for employers to

> enforce anti-harassment laws.

>

> On a similar point, my experiences have led me to believe there are far more

> common forms of discrimination within the industry, at least locally. The

> most common form of discrimination I have seen is religious persecution.

> There exists within our industry a strong intellectual elitism accompanied

> by an anti-religious dogma. I've seen numerous developers viciously torn

> down when it's been brought to the colleagues that they hold religious views

> of any sort. Whiel this form of persecution is no more damaging than gender

> discrimination, the fact that it is particularly vicious, overt and never

> (in my knowledge of the cases I have witnessed) rebuked by authority figures

> makes it far more concerning in my view.

>

> Regards,

> Nathan Runge

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