Last year, the All-in Diversity Project published a benchmark report revealing that only 22.5% of non-executive board members in gaming companies were female. Similarly, the Global Leadership Team Diversity report conducted by Odgers Berndtson and BoardEx found that women held just 19% of leadership team positions worldwide. It is important to note that diversity encompasses more than just gender. Organizations should strive to recognize and represent the entire spectrum of diversity in their workforce. However, focusing on gender, it is evident that men still dominate the executive tables of gaming companies.
To achieve fair representation in organizations, steps need to be taken to increase gender diversity in leadership teams. Here are five actions gaming companies could consider:
- Build female talent networks through hosting networking events, creating annual events with guest speakers, attending industry events for female professionals, and partnering with headhunters who have access to diverse leadership talent.
- Introduce mentoring programs and coaching initiatives within the company to support the progression of female employees and help them overcome barriers like the glass ceiling.
- Partner with industry charities that provide career outreach programs to female networks, expanding the pool of potential leaders from diverse backgrounds.
- Implement flexible working arrangements that accommodate family and caring responsibilities, making leadership roles more attractive to female candidates.
- Utilize psychometric testing in leadership team profiling to identify specific skills and traits that may be lacking and mitigate unconscious bias in the hiring process.
Setting diversity targets and making them public can also drive change and provide accountability. Gaming companies can use their current scores from the All-Index Annual Report as a benchmark and set annual targets accordingly.
The business and moral case for increasing gender diversity in leadership teams is clear. Gaming companies must prioritize actions to create fairer opportunities and representation within their senior ranks. While the above list is not exhaustive, it provides five steps towards achieving this goal.
