Why are there fewer women in leadership positions in the gaming industry and what is the solution? That's the question former Sony Santa Monica product development director Megan Morgan Juinio and Gearbox Montreal executive producer Fleur Marty grappled with during a conversation on stage at the Gamescom Asia x Thai Game Show.
First, Juinio provided some context to explain why answering this question is so important. She noted that, according to The latest Entertainment Software Association “Annual Facts” report on the US video game industryAbout 205 million Americans currently play video games, and 47 percent of those players identify as women.
But how many women create video games?
Last GDC State of the Industry Survey found that about 25 percent of developers identify as women. In discussing this data, Juinio wondered how many of these respondents were game directors or studio heads? How many executives sit at the head of the table and make decisions about what projects will be funded?
“I think over the last five to ten years, collectively around the world, we've put a lot of effort and energy into getting more girls into STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). We have created more opportunities for girls in high school and university to have mentorship and internship programs that create opportunities for entry-level positions in the gaming industry,” Juinho said.
“We want to continue this, but I think there’s a bit of a ‘yes and that’ conversation going on here.” So what now? How can we get more women to influence the content that ends up in players' hands?”
To find out, I took advantage of the Q&A session to ask Juinio and Marty how major publishers and studios, such as those that promoted them to leadership positions, can take practical steps to help women who want to pursue leadership roles?
“If you don't ask this question, you'll never know”
Juinio said there are many opportunities for companies to prove themselves in this regard. “One of them, which is pretty simple, is collecting data and sharing it with hiring managers,” she explained.
“I am not advocating quotas or top-down coercive measures. [hiring policies] it defines what the team composition should look like from a gender perspective, but if your hiring managers don't know what the team composition looks like, how can they be part of the evolution we want to inspire here? So collect data and share it.”
She added that employers should also strive to find and develop groups of like-minded women in their studios, creating development programs that allow women from different disciplines to network. “There might be one female engineer on Team A, two female animators on Team B, and one female designer on Team F, right there,” Juinio continued. “But do they know each other? Do they have the opportunity to meet and communicate? I think the desire for stronger connections and support and that sense of community will really help women become stronger.”
Marty agreed and noted how when she worked at Warner Bros. Montreal, she launched a Slack channel called “Women of Warner” to bring together women from different disciplines.
“At the time, the developers were very separate from QA because QA was the publishing side of the company and was responsible for all of the company's games, and the developers were only at Warner Montreal,” she recalls.
“But I said, 'No, anyone who worked at Warner Montreal should be a part of this, and it allowed a lot of the women in QA to contact the developers and ask them questions. It’s so simple, it’s free and it’s the simplest thing but to allow that connection.” [helps]”
Marty added that companies need to be proactive in identifying women who want to pursue leadership opportunities to figure out how to meet their specific needs. “Not everyone wants a leadership role,” she added. “Some people are happy to remain individual contributors and experts, but if you don't ask the question, you'll never know. So identify them and then ask, “Which way?” [for this person]? What does it look like? and let's start building.”
The game developer participated in the Gamescom Asia x Thai Game Show 2025 as a media partner, with tickets and accommodation paid for by the event organizers.
