On 21st March 2024, Allied Global Marketing and IGN Entertainment held the inaugural Women in Gaming luncheon in London. The first of many to come, the lunch was a joint effort in bringing women from around the gaming industry into a relaxed networking environment to discuss joint challenges and further support underrepresented communities within the gaming industry. IGN Entertainment, a media company made up of industry veterans that's been around for over 25 years and has run their own programmes for communities, jumped at the chance to co-host with us.   

In a report from Forbes, Female gamers are more prevalent than ever - representing "half of all gamers globally." Yet, representation for women and other gender expressions remains at an all-time low. As an ambassador for Women in Gaming, it's incredibly important to be an advocate for people who can be overlooked in a heavily male-dominated industry. Especially when faced with industry-wide redundancies, marginalised communities can be most affected, so it's incredibly important for events like these to create a welcoming and open environment for people to connect and network. 

With attendees from publishers Zynga, The Pokémon Company, Square Enix, Frontier Developments, Rebellion and Big Fish Games, the relaxed lunch gave women from across the industry an opportunity to discuss everything from pay disparity to representation in senior leadership roles. 

As a woman in gaming, I have been faced with my own challenges, often being the only woman in a room full of men, and I have found it difficult to have my voice heard or be promoted over male colleagues who were more visible to male leadership. As I have grown up through gaming and found my own support network with other communities that have faced similar issues, I've found my confidence and a way to help tackle those challenges. 

At AGM, we plan to make these events a regular occurrence so that we can welcome more and more women in the gaming industry and grow this initiative into a supportive network that people can turn to for advice, information and networking.To learn more about how we support women in gaming, get in touch.