“Our goal is to fight for more diversity in the video game industry” [INTERVIEW]

We were able to talk with several members of the association “Women in Games France” who campaign for more diversity within the industry. Our interview.

According to the latest report from SELL (Union of Leisure Software Publishers), women now represent nearly half of video game consumers in France. The industry remains, however, a predominantly male environment with many obstacles to hiring and daily life for men. women and non-binary people in France.

We took advantage of the 2024 edition of the Paris Games Week trade show to meet the members of the association “Women in Games France" and better understand their motivations, issues and challenges.

The general public may not know you. Could you introduce yourself and the association “Women in Games France" ?

My name is Daphnée Zouankouan, I am a graphic designer and creator content on Twitch and I am also a member of the Board of Directors of Women In Games France and a member of the association “Afrogameuses”.

“Women in Games” France” is a professional association under the 1901 law that aims to strengthen diversity and gender diversity in the video game industry in France. To do this, we mainly use three lines of action with the promotion of people who work in the industry, training and networking evenings, and finally we raise awareness among actors and actresses already present in the industry of the interest in gender diversity. within their companies.

The goal of your association is to “double the number of women and non-binary people in the industry within 10 years”, do you have any idea of ​​this figure today ?

Yes, currently we have 24% women and 5% non-binary people working in the video game industry in France. Figures that we have highlighted in particular through an infographic that we have produced a few months ago.

© Women in Games What actions has the association implemented to achieve this goal ?

We mainly support industry players and actresses and set up guides and solutions for people who are already in the video game industry or want to get into it. For example, we have a guide to recognize and prevent sexist behavior within a studio. It is also possible to call us to benefit from daily advice or for specific tasks. In particular, we create resources and offer training to help studio designers not to get lost in stereotypes when creating their characters and that these latter are not too clichéd.

We also offer mentoring and “Boost!” workshops to help people who work in video games or who want to work to learn about tips of the trade, advice on creating a network, etc. We also allow several members of the association to participate free of charge in professional video game events in France (ADDON, Game Camp) or in international (devcom, Game Developer Conference, …) in order to expand their network and learn a lot of things!

You think that the biggest difficulty for a woman or a non-binary person is in recruitment or even within the industry ?

I would say both. In recruitment, women and non-binary people often tend not to be prioritized over men. As in any company, there is a lot of intimacy or cronyism which therefore tends to recruit his friend rather than a person as well, if not better qualified. We feel however that this tends to change with the years.

Access to recruitment is one example of difficulties in the industry. To help women and people of marginalized genders who are already in the studios, we have our “Boost!” conference cycle which offers various thematic workshops to appreciate and enhance your skills, improve your CV, negotiate your salary, etc…

What are the actions and activities proposed by “Women in Games France" during Paris Games Week ?

At the show, we have a rather educational approach. We have been at the PGW show for about 5 years and we have our own stand in the “Games Made in France” area. For three years, we have been offering an interactive wheel called “inclusion” which allows you to learn about several themes such as the place of women in streaming or in the studio or even historical figures in video games. Visitors are asked questions and if they find the answer, they get little gifts like a badge or stickers.

We also present three games made by French studios with mixed teams or with women in charge. We have in particular “Purrfect Brews”, “Multi Maze Party” and "Caravan SandWitch".

Several games including “Caravan SandWitch” are playable on the “Women in Games” booth at Paris Games Week. ©  Plug In Digital

Finally, we have several activities and conferences planned on different stages such as the Ubisoft booth or the Xbox booth where we present the association. Our entire program is available on our website for those interested.

The issue of gender and the place of women in video games has taken a worrying turn in recent months. How can we explain such a phenomenon ?

For us, it's a sign that we're doing our job well. Studios are increasingly playing the game of diversity and diversity, and it's logical that it doesn't please big toxic or misogynistic gamers, unfortunately. They're going to have to get used to it because we're going to continue to be educational about all this! I don't think it's something that's really linked to video games, but to society itself. As soon as we see a black character, a disabled character or simply a woman who is not sexualized, that is enough to trigger reactions today.

We have notably observed a list of games and studios, but also companies outside of video games that are singled out for highlighting diversity and gender diversity. It's stupid but it helps us at the association because we can better see the companies that are going in the right direction, so thank you to them! (laughs) We see these studios and their progress and this allows us to thank them directly.

The latest SELL report mentions that women represent almost half of the players in France. How would you explain that stereotypes are still conveyed today ?

Very good question (laughs)because in this figure, we generally include all the media for practicing Video Games including mobile. The stereotypes about female players have certainly accompanied the stereotypes about mobile video games which are still considered by some people as “casual” and therefore less well perceived than the so-called “real” ones. console or PC games.

We also forget that there are still many women who have to take care of their children and/or are housewives. These people generally have less time to indulge in video games and therefore consume them in the way they can, namely on the phone. This does not prevent them from having excellent games on mobile.

We are at the “Jeux Made in France” stand and it must be said: French video games have not been doing well recently. How can “Women in Games France” help industry players in the face of layoffs, poor game sales, etc. ?

This situation does not only concern the video game sector. It is above all a backlash from the Covid years when studios recruited en masse to produce more, without worrying about “what comes after”. The actors and actresses of the industry are then suffering the full force of the backlash and this blocks us a little in our desire to advocate for diversity within studios and recruitment. It is difficult to encourage the arrival of new faces when the industry is doing badly.

A person concerned by this situation can however turn to us and contact us on our site or our official Discord server. We have several members of the industry who can provide advice or even job offers that can help you bounce back.

But even if everything goes well for you, you can still chat with us, join “Women in Games” and our activities. It is possible to simply become a supporter or a member of the association to keep it alive alongside us. Companies and studios can also become partners with “Women in Games” France to help us in our actions.