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Maybe it's just the low quality of the article that leaves me puzzled, but the Gabrielle Toledanos argument doesn't make sense to me. According to the article

by jb17 14y ago

Maybe it's just the low quality of the article that leaves me puzzled, but the Gabrielle Toledanos argument doesn't make sense to me. According to the article she says that sexism is not the problem, but perceived sexism. So women don't join the gaming industry because they think it's sexist. Assuming she is right (I'm not saying she is), doesn't that make removing the sexist reputation of the gaming industry the main issue?

pekk 14y ago
Let me try to explain what I understood without in any way taking up this position (I have nothing to do with the games industry). She says sexism is a serious issue, BUT the problem in the games industry is not enough women to hire, especially in engineering. This is the bottom line for the article. She doesn't at all say that perceived sexism is "the problem," I think that is your interpolation. She does say that if the reason a woman doesn't join the industry is because she fears sexism will limit her, that woman is missing out (implied: it's worth it, it's not that limiting). But nothing is asserted about perceived sexism having primacy. So it doesn't necessarily follow from this position that the main issue is to remove the sexist reputation of the gaming industry. But even if it were, you will see a different approach if the reputation is accurate vs. if it is overblown. There are lots of reasons for why a demographic might be under-represented in an industry, which do not require that the demographic is being abused to a point where there is no point in their getting equipped to join that industry
- jb17 14y ago
  OK, you're right, maybe I'm interpolating her argument because it is the only thing the article mentions her saying about why women don't join the gaming industry (or become engineers in general). Saying the problem is that there aren't enough women to hire is just another way of saying that only few women want to join that industry. That is not a problem analysis. So I read the actual article in Forbes: She argues that the level of sexism in the gaming industry is similar to other male dominated industry and that the game industry just has a bad reputation. She then goes on to encourage women to join the gaming industry. That makes more sense then the sensationalist title/article on gamasutra.

by jb17 14y ago

pekk 14y ago

Let me try to explain what I understood without in any way taking up this position (I have nothing to do with the games industry). She says sexism is a serious issue, BUT the problem in the games industry is not enough women to hire, especially in engineering. This is the bottom line for the article. She doesn't at all say that perceived sexism is "the problem," I think that is your interpolation. She does say that if the reason a woman doesn't join the industry is because she fears sexism will limit her, that woman is missing out (implied: it's worth it, it's not that limiting). But nothing is asserted about perceived sexism having primacy. So it doesn't necessarily follow from this position that the main issue is to remove the sexist reputation of the gaming industry. But even if it were, you will see a different approach if the reputation is accurate vs. if it is overblown. There are lots of reasons for why a demographic might be under-represented in an industry, which do not require that the demographic is being abused to a point where there is no point in their getting equipped to join that industry

jb17 14y ago
OK, you're right, maybe I'm interpolating her argument because it is the only thing the article mentions her saying about why women don't join the gaming industry (or become engineers in general). Saying the problem is that there aren't enough women to hire is just another way of saying that only few women want to join that industry. That is not a problem analysis. So I read the actual article in Forbes: She argues that the level of sexism in the gaming industry is similar to other male dominated industry and that the game industry just has a bad reputation. She then goes on to encourage women to join the gaming industry. That makes more sense then the sensationalist title/article on gamasutra.