When we envision programmers, it is unlikely for us to picture any of the girls in the Saint Benedict prep coding class. However, many of these young girls may be among the vast number of women currently entering the coding and gaming industry.
In the last few years, there has been a slow increase of women in the gaming industry. With the wave of women currently in the gaming industry, it’s worth asking the question, why has this space been so male-oriented, and why is this wave happening now? The answer to that requires the context of the evolution of the gaming industry starting back in the 1950s. Gaming was very different from what we have today. The only video game available then was a small ball passed back and forth. A game called table tennis, the start of the gaming industry as we know it.
This game did not include any women in the creation process. The first woman hired in the gaming industry was an Atari employee, Carol Shaw. She worked on 3D tic tac toe in 1979. Most women in the gaming industry got overlooked in the creation process. Mostly because of brand acknowledgment instead of acknowledging the people who created them. Many of the creators of games went unrecognized and this happened even more so when it comes to women.
The current state of the gaming industry is very different from when it began. We have seen an increase in diversity. The most prevalent increase in diversity was in Hispanic growth, from 6% in 2010 to 9% in 2021. This coincides with women as well, ranging from 14% in 2010 to 23% in 2021. Why is this influx of women in the gaming industry happening now? One reason for this wave of women, according to Joshua West-Williams ‘13, coding teacher of the girls division and tech support. The expansion of freedoms allowed in the field. From the early 2000s to the 2010s the amount of flexibility for personal game developers was non-existent. Gaming corporations held profits before art and this created toxic work environments, short deadlines, and generally bad workplaces for women and men alike.
In recent years the loss of control from publishers has led to a much wider range of games. The new freedom provided by independent video games or indie in the gaming space has let anyone with a computer make their own game. Indie companies and single teams of developers are starting to prove you don’t need the backing of large companies to make your idea. This notion has most likely motivated queer people, people of color, and of course, women to enter this space. The improvement we have seen in the gaming industry is groundbreaking but far from perfect.
Women in the gaming industry have faced numerous challenges over the years. Historically, the industry has been male-dominated. There have been few opportunities for women to enter and succeed in the field. Women have also faced discrimination and harassment in the workplace while being overlooked and undervalued for their contributions to the industry. They have been historically overlooked for promotions and other opportunities. In addition, the industry still has a long way to go in terms of creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment for women and other marginalized groups. Efforts are being made to address these issues. Many gaming companies are taking steps to promote diversity and inclusion in their workplaces. There are a growing number of organizations dedicated to supporting women and other underrepresented groups in the gaming industry.
The effects of women in the space have seen a mixed response, from improvements for women in all IT workplaces to gamers disliking some particular changes in games. The changes in games especially when it comes to portraying women. The common damsel in distress is no more compared to their current-day counterpart. This last generation of video games has had a host of great women in games, Bayonet, Celeste, and Signals all games that have female protagonists.
The history of St. Benedict’s is full of trailblazers from the monks that integrated the school for people of color, to the beginning of the girls division. The challenges and expectations for this new wave of game developers and designers will be unheard of, but the generation of St. Benedict’s prep girls and boys will be prepared. The subjects taught to this next wave of game designers in school will shape this industry and change the games we play video games.
