GAMING SPECIAL
CULTIVATING DIVERSITY: WHERE THERE’S A WILL
Susanne Bauer, Senior Localisation Specialist at Jagex, on why diversity matters in the games industry
igher levels of racial and gender diversity have a positive impact on business. This has
out’ by the lack of women. A ‘Women at Jagex’ chat room was set up, and was quickly followed by a lunchtime meet- up, which encouraged women from all over the business to come together and network. Our initial goals were simple: more internal support for women, and to help inspire young women to seek out a career in the games industry. The first external event we attended was a career fair at an all-girls school in London, where we shared insights about the many different career paths in our sector – coding, game design, art, leadership roles, translation, analytics, IT, web development and so on.
been shown time and time again, for example in the large-scale McKinsey study in 2015. Even if you ignore the morality of it – which you definitely shouldn’t – diversity is commercially advantageous. This is a reality that the games industry, despite its traditional roots as a nerdy white boys’ club, is waking up to – and the doors are gradually opening for women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ and other minorities. At Jagex, this change began in January 2018 when a colleague, who had recently joined, said she felt ‘weirded
ABOVE Susanne Bauer has been instrumental in turning around the culture at Jagex, increasing inclusivity
ISSUE 06 16
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