Blizzard activey supports Woman and minorities to get into the gaming industry

[Celista]

Back in my day we hoped to hire the best person for the job, regardless of genitalia or sexual orientation.

That's bigoted nowadays. Oh progressives, thou hast gone too far.

Yeah well in the US where 94% of Fortune 500 CEOs are men, and there is ONE African-American CEO, it's pretty clear that genitalia and skin color are playing a role in who gets the job. Unless you think women and blacks are somehow inferior to white men.

You just don't give a shit if it's someone whose skin color or genitalia doesn't match your own.

[Arrowstormen]

"We need to make sure people aren't choosing candidates based on race/sex. So we're going to hire people based on their sex/race to combat it."


Seriously, how does discrimination combat discrimination? Or is this another one of those "can't be racist against whitey" things?

See my example above.

Also, when you are skilled and can't get a job in the industry because you are a white male, give me a call. Until then, I reject the notion that "looking for more diversity" means "zomg white males can't get jobs".

[Very Tired]

Males have a larger interest for tech because a generation ago, society made the mistake of branding computers as a "boys thing". Boys got computers, girls didn't. This meant males were better at computers, which made them go for the tech jobs and developer jobs, which made the industries male-centric, which just makes computers appear even more male-centric in the future.

It's a catch-22, and unless incentives like these happen, it will continue to be a male-centric industry for no real reason, which is bad for business and the future of the industry. Gaming is already becoming more and more mainstream, and technology/software is the future, and getting in a larger part of the industry will help it grow.

That was back then. What about the current day and age? Today, both boys and girls are welcomed in games, which have become rather mainstream and companies welcome it, seeing as that's a bigger market for them. Everyone has a computer and the opportunity to both play and make games.

But that's the latest generation. It will take some time to see them join the actual workforce and replace the generation you are talking about.

[Arrowstormen]

That right there is the problem. I have no problem with a goal intended to raise diversity, but blindly hiring anyone with no qualifications in order to hit some imaginary number that is deemed acceptable is ridiculous.

And obviously that isn't happening.

[Najnaj]

"We need to make sure people aren't choosing candidates based on race/sex. So we're going to hire people based on their sex/race to combat it."


Seriously, how does discrimination combat discrimination? Or is this another one of those "can't be racist against whitey" things?

You are aware of the fact that white males are over represented in high paying jobs and everyone else is over represented in low paying jobs. When was the last time you get handed a burger by a white man and do you think this is because of merit?

[Dragon Claws]

I'm all for opportunity, but if you're hiring for diversity for the sake of diversity, you get things like Mass Effect Andromeda.

Also anytime someone calls attention to equality (gender/race/whatever), it ultimately undermines the concept of it by implying that this is an exception and not a status quo.

[Tikaru]

You are aware of the fact that white males are over represented in high paying jobs and everyone else is over represented in low paying jobs. When was the last time you get handed a burger by a white man and do you think this is because of merit?

So, the means to ending this rampant racism is with racism. Gotcha.

[Arrowstormen]

That was back then. What about the current day and age? Today, both boys and girls are welcomed in games, which have become rather mainstream and companies welcome it, seeing as that's a bigger market for them. Everyone has a computer and the opportunity to both play and make games.

But that's the latest generation. It will take some time to see them join the actual workforce and replace the generation you are talking about.

Yep, you are completely right. But things like this need to happen to actually show people this, or people will just teach what the last generation taught. I'm part of this generation, and I can tell you that I had a computer and played video games at a very early age, but my sisters didn't, because they weren't taught so. My dad played games, so I did as well, but my mom didn't, so my sisters didn't either.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Awesome I hope some take them up on it, it could be great experience for some very qualified individuals who might not otherwise get the chance.

[Deleted]

The government starts to see that it is kind of a problem that they are limited to mostly only having people from a single state,

The military is a bit special, becue its national security, but lets trun it, Jews are overrepresented in the banking system, a memo go out in the banking system "avoid employ Jews" do you suport a action like that?

(I do not know if the overrepresentation is still true, but lets pretend it still is for the exampel)

[Zython]

The military is a bit special, becue its national security, but lets trun it, Jews are overrepresented in the banking system, a memo go out in the banking system "Do not hire Jews" do you suport a action like that?

(I do not know if it still true, but lets pretend it still is for the exampel)

Well, see, the difference here is that stereotype has been used as justification for genocide (REAL genocide, not "white genocide"). So...no. Not equivalent. At all.

[ls-]

Well, see, the difference here is that stereotype has been used as justification for genocide (REAL genocide, not "white genocide"). So...no. Not equivalent. At all.

Do you play a rogue or a cat?

[Jonnusthegreat]

That right there is the problem. I have no problem with a goal intended to raise diversity, but blindly hiring anyone with no qualifications in order to hit some imaginary number that is deemed acceptable is ridiculous.

Your hyperbole is intense. It obviously doesn't mean hire someone with no qualifications. It means that a diverse mindset has more value than is quantifiable by previous accomplishments and we aren't currently able to measure it.

[Very Tired]

Yep, you are completely right. But things like this need to happen to actually show people this, or people will just teach what the last generation taught. I'm part of this generation, and I can tell you that I had a computer and played video games at a very early age, but my sisters didn't, because they weren't taught so. My dad played games, so I did as well, but my mom didn't, so my sisters didn't either.

And what exactly is Blizzard doing here that addresses the lack of gaming interest in female youth? The title of the article refers to Blizzard wanting to hiring more woman. At the hiring stage, (where it seems more people in this thread have the biggest issue) it's already to late. The woman either have had interest in their youth or had not. To solve the issue you are talking about requires a way different approach than altering hiring practices.

Furthermore, giving preferential treatment to those of a certain gender can actually end up having the opposite effect of solving the problem.

[Rukario]

"Help wanted - White males need not apply"

[Deleted]

Why should anyone give a flying fuck what sort of genitals or skin color their game designer has? There are NO barriers to women or minorities to get into game design. Just apply like everyone else.

While there aren't really any actual barriers for women to get into the game industry, but due to the high percentage of men, it does put women off from entering it in the first place.
Now, this is merely anecdotal observations on my part, but the school I attended had a game development bachelor program, and when talking with girls who were interested in it, they did note that the overwhelming amount of guys already attending it put them off from enrolling, leading to them choosing other programs that had shared some things with it (like interior design). It's only really the ones who are already big into gaming, the women who have already been exposed and come to terms with the male majority of the video game consumer-base and industry, that enrolled in it.

Similarly, my current SO who attended that very same bachelor program once told me that she didn't take an internship at a small AA game studio because there were no no female employees at the time she was offered.
After talking with my friends who work there and the CEO, I got to know that they used to have female staff (which have gone to bigger studios) and that they'd love to hire more women if positions opened up, but that they still pick the best qualified individual for the job.

So while there isn't an actual barrier that prohibits women and minorities to enter the game industry or specific companies, it's more so that the cultural perception that is the barrier. People still perceive video games to be very much a boys club despite it being very welcoming for people of any kind. For women, it can be very intimidating for someone to start a job, career or curriculum when the grand majority of the people you'll be working with are of the opposite sex.

[Deleted]

Well, see, the difference here is that stereotype has been used as justification for genocide (REAL genocide, not "white genocide"). So...no. Not equivalent. At all.

So you are one of them who think white people cant suffer of discrimination becuse one time in history they was on the top?

[Livnthedream]

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The right sex is male, so you're right, we don't have equal opportunity.

Think of it like this:

Let's say there was a state in America called Sparta, and the majority of the members of the military were people from Sparta. This was because people in Sparta were trained from birth to be soldiers, and they were therefore more skilled.

Other people around America would like to join the military as well, but most don't, because hey, they're not spartans, they aren't as tough as them or have the same experience, so how could they compete?

The government starts to see that it is kind of a problem that they are limited to mostly only having people from a single state, so they start to create programs to help get more people from outside Sparta into the military. They want to show they want and need people who aren't spartans in the military, if they are to grow and represent the entire country.

The hope is that if people outside Sparta start to join the military, people will start to realize it's possible and something they can be part of, and the military will grow and diversify.

As a Woman in Tech, I Realized: These Are Not My People

#ListenToWomen

[elaina]

I think it's extremely important to hire women in story and design roles, even if not qualified. That type of diversity should be increased whatever the cost.

I don't think this can be stated enough. At the very least for story/consulting. I don't think any kind of talent deficit is going to be so great on any side to significantly harm the product by taking less experienced but more diverse groups for a job like that.

[Livnthedream]

While there aren't really any actual barriers for women to get into the game industry, but due to the high percentage of men, it does put women off from entering it in the first place.
Now, this is merely anecdotal observations on my part, but the school I attended had a game development bachelor program, and when talking with girls who were interested in it, they did note that the overwhelming amount of guys already attending it put them off from enrolling.
Similarly, my current SO who attended that very same bachelor program mentioned to me that she didn't take an internship at a studio because there were no no female employees at the time.
After talking with my friends at the studio and the CEO, I got to know that they used to have female staff (which have gone to bigger studios) and that they'd love to hire women if a position opened up, but still picked the best qualified individuals.

So while there isn't an actual barrier that prohibits women and minorities to enter the game industry or specific companies, it's more so that the cultural perception that is the barrier. People still perceive video games to be very much a boys club despite it being very welcoming for people of any kind.In case of women, it can be very intimidating for someone to start a job, career or curriculum when a grand majority of the people you'll be working with are of the opposite sex.

Maybe those women should stop being sexist then? Just a thought!

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I don't think this can be stated enough. At the very least for story/consulting. I don't think any kind of talent deficit is going to be so great on any side to significantly harm the product by taking less experienced but more diverse groups for a job like that.

Once again I point to Fallout 4 and how utterly stupid this 'logic' is.