Here’s a Devastating Account of the Crap Women in the Games Business Have to Deal With. In 2012.

Kotaku: Over the past 24 hours or so, a number of women working in the game industry (and some male colleagues) have taken to Twitter to share their stories via the hashtag #1reasonwhy.

They're not motivational tales. Instead, they're accounts of the rampant sexism and discrimination many have faced in the past, and are still facing today. The volume of the confessions, not to mention the important and prominent role of many involved, is sobering.

[Jinkies]

For the ones actually speaking about posistions in the industry and how most "guys" are picked instead of them all I have to say is...are you surprized, I mean really.

No offense but the gaming industry is a boys club, like online games or gaming in general, when gaming was first established the target audience were males, proof of this is the old stereotype that went around about males being geeks/nerds and playing on their "computer games"...you know when girls wouldn't dare look twice at you over it. I'm not saying there wasn't any female gamers present but I think females in the industry have to realise the drawbacks about getting into this work field.

I mean if you were a guy and you got into fashion design, making shoes, clothes, pants etc then you would get it where females would be picked more for jobs, females picking their female friends for interviews etc, you couldn't really complain because that type of industry is more of a female work place, like above I'm not saying there isn't any males who do this, Gok Wan for example or Alexander Mcqueen but it's just viewed as that genders work place.

Some of these things like women being groped and touched is uncalled for and should be reported but for the ones moaning about unfairness in the industry and how games are more targeted at men...sorry but what do you expect. It's like when females go online, say their a girl at the start of a match, make a big deal out of it, get torn to shreds by being called names because of it then complaining about it after....honestly, what do you guys expect.

In my opinion Amy Hennig from NaughtyDog is a perfect example of a strong female developer in this industry. She basicaly was the driving force behind Uncharted one of the best new IPs this gen.

http://articles.latimes.com...

Hennig is often asked about sexism and challenges she has faced. But she says it's not an issue."

"Usually it has been men who gave me the opportunities I have had. I think this is a young enough and progressive enough industry that there just isn't any of that."

[Tameel1]

1. Seriously? You're defending the discrimination and harassment of women who work in the games industry because "it's a boy's club"? Yes there are going to be drawbacks for women in gaming because it is a male-dominated field, but that doesn't mean they should just shut up and expect to be treated like crap because of it. Good on them for standing up to it. If the games industry is as bad as these women say, then how could speaking up about it be a bad thing?

2. The fashion example is a bad one because most big-name fashion designers are male. Hugo Boss, Giorgio Armani, Louis Vuitton, Peter Alexander, Calvin Klein, Mario Prada, Émile-Maurice Hermès, Alexander Wang, Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Salvatore Ferragamo, Gianni Versace, Emilio Pucci, Hubert de Givenchy and Marc Jacobs would disagree with you.

3. I don't see what the 'girls online' example has to do with anything. Just because there are girls who show off online, doesn't mean that professional female developers deserve to be treated any differently just because they're female. It just goes to show that so many gamers use the actions of one woman (or a small group of women) to represent the entire female gender. Which is exactly what this Twitter thing is about. Getting rid of the stereotypes and treating women like human beings.

[Jinkies]

I wasn't defending it...don't twist my words around please so you can look all "noble"

"Some of these things like women being groped and touched is uncalled for and should be reported"

[Swiftfox]

I feel I must argue a point. While I would definitely consider the video game industry of today a “boys club”, the gaming industry didn't begin by exclusively targeting males over females. The beginning was very unisex. Pong, one of the first games to spark the industry, was played by women and men. As were many of the old arcade games such as Pacman. The reason for it's transition into a “boys club” is the same reason girls drop from sports around the teen age. Society expects girls to become women. They read magazines that say they will never be pretty unless they do such and such. They see movies where they see women simply be sexy, depend on men, and live happily ever after. They see and hear advertisements that constantly prey on their insecurity.

While there is a demand by society for men to measure their worth by their success those that did not pursue success found video games as a way to pass the time. Which is were you got the first gamer stereotype of a fat lazy male in someones basement. It was a contrast and the opposite of what society thought men should be. Men played the games in their youth. They were inspired. They got into the industry. By this time gaming had grown into the 80's and 90's and we had the aspects that attracted men finding their way into games such as ultra violence, and sexy women. It has gotten better over time but the industry still heavily favors a male audience. The past few E3s are example enough. Hell it seems the gaming industry is doing everything it can to alienate women.

If women want to get into the industry, are capable of getting into the industry, then they should be able to without fear or the stereotype of “Games are for guys by guys. Women don't belong here.”

Gender should never be a factor when entering any area of work. Period.

[League_of_Draven]

I stopped reading at "Kotaku". I can already tell it's another one of their crybaby articles like they made during the SFxTK pre-release tournament.

[Pozzle]

Tbh, I find it hilarious that Kotaku of all websites are telling gamers to take women seriously in the industry...when they themselves have posted an article about Jade Raymond smelling "pretty", articles about Japanese porn stars that might mention video games once or twice, and constant panty shots of female cosplayers.

[T3MPL3TON]

Waaaaaaaa we want equal parts in an industry we never gave two craps about.

Look, I'm all for chicks getting into games. However, I don't give two sh*ts who you are.. You didn't get the job because someone more qualified got it before you. This isn't the 40's and women need to stop acting like it is. Nobody cares if you have t*ts or a d*ck.. you want a position in the gaming industry. Earn it. Simple as that.

Jade Raymond wasn't sitting there complaining. She was putting her work in and she earned her spot just like all the other thousands of women who work in the industry. Just like all the thousands of men who work in the industry.

[Tameel1]

Except we sadly don't live in a world where things like gender or race or religion don't matter to people. Yes it isn't the 1940s any more and thankfully our society has come very far since then. But that doesn't mean people aren't discriminated against nowadays. Especially if those people are a minority in their field of work.
I don't mean to sound like an ass but how can you read an article liek this that has FIRST HAND EXPERIENCES of women in the industry being ignored, mocked, sexually assaulted, and not hired because of their gender and simply call them a bunch of whiners?

That sort of attitude is exactly what's being talked about here. That people keep ignoring the problem and/or telling women to shut up and deal with it, instead of fixing the problem of the sexists and the assaulters and making the game industry a more pleasant place for everyone involved.

Why tell the people being discriminated against to shut up about the discrimination? Why not tell the sexists and disciminators to shut up and treat everyone as they themselves want to be treated?

[jeeves86]

Oops, looks like someone didn't read the article and automatically assumed that these women were just complaining because they couldn't get a job in the industry.

Go back and give it a read, it's alright. Too bad it's too late to change the asinine comment you made about it.

[TheSaint]

I've been sexually harassed by women before, the difference is a man enjoys it.