Career Paths of Women in the German Games Industry

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the career paths of women in the German games industry. On the basis of interviews with women who work in different segments of the games business – thus representing an expert view on the sector – we gained a diverse and profound insight into the careers of women in the games industry. A main focus was on the question of what challenges women in a male-dominated work environment meet. The results of this qualitative study show that the career paths of the women are highly individual and that the majority of them accidentally found their way into this business. However, they love their work and they confidently face such challenges as being a woman in a male domain or the long-hours culture.