Next week’s game developers conference GDC Europe will see the return of a celebrated panel, “Turning the Tide: Hiring and Retaining Women in the Game Industry.” First held at GDC San Francisco in March 2015, the GDC Europe panel covers topics ranging from creating enticing work environments for top talent to retaining career-focused women at all levels of varied game development disciplines. GDC Europe is scheduled for August 3-4 at Cologne Congress Center East.
Moderated by Fiona Cherbak, senior staffing specialist for Gameloft, the GDC Europe panel is comprised of women from companies representing every tier of European game development. The speakers include Isabelle Tremblay, Head of Human Resources for Square Enix Europe; Catherine Silvestre, General Manager for NaturalMotion; Kim Pasquin, General Manager for Nvizzio Creations; and Orna Holland, Senior Director of Global Talent at King.
Holland offers, “Women still account for only a small percentage of the workforce in the gaming industry. There’s lots being done to address this, but there’s still plenty more the industry can do to attract and retain women. I’m looking forward to exploring some of the opportunities we have to ensure more great female talent is represented in our industry at the Turning the Tide panel.”
Tremblay adds, “I had the opportunity to speak on this panel at GDC in San Francisco earlier this year, and look forward to bringing Square Enix’s cross-continental perspective to the our GDC Europe panel. While there are clearly cultural and geographic differences in dealing with the challenges of hiring and retention of women in the games industry, many of the same issues exist from region to region, country to country. This is an opportunity to delve more specifically into how we can support the European workplace.”
The conversation inspired by “Turning the Tide” is important not just for women working in the industry, but for anyone responsible for recruiting, hiring, establishing culture, or fostering a supportive work environment. Cherbak hopes to attract studio hiring directors and general managers as the target audience for this all-women panel of studio heads, HR directors, and senior hiring managers: the keepers of the culture in their studios, who will discuss their visions and solutions for drawing in more women as employees, tackling tough issues, and retaining female employees whose contributions make a difference in worldwide game development.
“Turning the Tide: Hiring and Retaining Women in the game Industry” will be held on Tuesday, August 4 from 15:45 pm to 16:45 pm in Europasaal, 1st Level at the Cologne Congress Center East. The panel is part of the Business, Marketing & Management, and Production conference tracks at GDC Europe.
For more information please visit the GDC Europe website.