IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
The news, views and analysis that’s caught our eye over the past month…
It’s definitely a Barbie summer and, whether you’ve seen the movie or not, you can’t have missed the hype around it – from the fury from angry men on social media (as ever!) to the plaudits from fans, and everything inbetween. Refinery29 has a great piece suggesting that Barbie is this generation’s feminist movie. Don your pink and read on…
Huffington Post, meanwhile, offers an ode to Barbie’s Ken, ‘our unwitting work/life balance king’
Elsewhere in the wider entertainment world, the Guardian threw the spotlight on Stormzy as he hit his 30thbirthday. The rapper has gone from grime trailblazer to political figurehead, says the article. ‘But will the dozens of Black students he’s put through Cambridge [University] turn out to be his greatest legacy…?’
Still in the music industry and much more sombre news came with the passing of Sinead O’Connor. The BBC– amongst many other media outlets – provided a round-up of tributes to the Irish singer.
Within the games industry, it’s been a mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly…
Our friends at Code Coven are to be applauded for launching Evolve, a studio accreditation aimed at setting standards for accountability and EDI. It is being rolled out in association with Gamesindustry.biz which announced the news.
The news outlet also took a look at the ways that men can help stamp out the harassment and abuse of women in the industry – an issue that Women in Games is addressing through a series of upcoming initiatives. Read the article here.
We were sad to read the news that Anita Sarkeesian has closed down her advocacy organisation Feminist Frequency, citing burnout as a key reason. Via Polygon. We thank Anita for all her work and influence, and wish her all the very best for the future.
Meanwhile, Game Developer reports on Roblox Corp’s employees speaking out about an alleged lack of diversity at the company.
Gamesindustry.biz suggests that the ESRB wants to make it easier to harvest kids’ personal data, providing analysis on the situation.
And the downright ugly comes via a report from the ADL Center for Technology and Society on the Hateful User Names in Online Games. Its findings demonstrate that many game companies are failing even the most basic moderation efforts by allowing usernames such as ‘HeilHitler’…
Good and bad news in the wider world too…
Following lobbying and campaigning from many women-focused organisations, the UK’s Online Safety Bill guidance WILL tackle the abuse of women and girls. Via End Violence Against Women
The Story Exchange reports that Sheryl Sandberg is helping young girls to develop leadership skills, expanding her Lean In organisation to include a free 15-lesson programme for girls aged 11-15.
However, the Fawcett Society publishes research which shows that black and minoritised mothers are hit hardest by the ‘Motherhood Pay Penalty’.
And IBTimes spotlights research by UN Women and the UN Development Programme showing that women’s empowerment is shockingly low worldwide – and at the current rate of progress, it is predicted that it will take 286 years to achieve global gender equality…
But finally, with many women now juggling parenting and working during the summer holidays, a big thank you to the Guardian for providing a list of the best video games to help you and your kids survive the summer.
If you spot anything you’d like to share with the Women in Games community, please email lisa.carter@womeningames.org
Photo by Abhijith S Nair on Unsplash