Andy Payne: ‘No excuse’ for lack of diversity in games

Games veteran Andy Payne says there is "no excuse" for the lack of diversity within the industry workforce.

Delivering the opening keynote at today’s European Women In Games Conference, the UKIE chairman addressed the difference between the gender split in the games industry compared to other sectors.

Creative Skillset research found that only 16 per cent of the UK’s games workforce are women. This was in line with Develop’s own research, which found the number to be 15 per cent.

This is behind the global average, with an IGDA survey revealing that 22 per cent of the world’s games employees are female.

Both the UK and worldwide figures compare even less favourably against other creative industries. In the UK, women account for 40 per cent of the animation industry, and 47 per cent of film production. Payne admitted that both film and animation have been around longer than video games, but we still need to work harder to catch up.

"We’ve got a lot to improve here," he said. "We’re a relatively young industry, but that’s no excuse. In fact, we should be more diverse because being a young industry means we’re not run by grey-haired old men."

Payne went on to quote another study, which revealed that 45 per cent of women in the industry feel their gender has been a limiting factor in their career, while 33 per cent have experienced harassment and bullying because of it. However, 84 per cent believe good practices are in place to address this.

Reportedly, only 33 per cent of games CEOs are female, but Payne adds that this is changing thanks to the rise of start-ups and indie studios.