The GAGE project intended to portray the evolution of female participation in the Portuguse gaming industry, providing a comprehensive assessment of the gaps and challenges of gender equity in this professional field. Our aim was to promote diversity, changing values and behaviors through inclusive practices that encourage the participation of women in this economic and cultural sector. Thus, we proposed a critique of games as a mirror of a binary society (M/F) where men have a preponderance in the narratives created and developed.
In Portugal, the digital games industry has been consolidating. It is estimated that operating companies employ between 986 and 1270 workers and generate annual revenues of approximately 31 million euros (Romeiro et al., 2020). In a decade, there has been a significant increase in the offer of specific training in the area (Lima & Gouveia, 2020), and events related to digital games have emerged: game jams, game development camps and conferences. There is a strong masculinization of the workforce and a greater presence of men in higher education associated with technological areas, from which most of the human resources in the industry come from. Gender asymmetries must be investigated through a creative collaborative practice in which artists, game designers and engineers work together.
This research took place between 2020-2024 and was conducted by a team of researchers with different backgrounds (Arts, Social Sciences, Design, Engineering and Philosophy) and with experience in research that combine different methods in data collection. GAGE project was an action arts and design-based research proposal on gender equality within the scope of the digital games industry.
This project was important for several reasons: i. to contribute to one of the sustainable development goals (Agenda 2030, UN), namely, to achieve gender equality at all levels; ii. for being a pioneering and comprehensive study that focuses on an expanding technological and creative industry in Portugal; iii. for being an empirical and theoretical contribution in game studies, game arts and design and gender studies. In the long run, GAGE can potentially impact the conceptualization of policies and programs such as the National Strategy for Equality and Non-Discrimination (2018-2030) - Portugal + Equality, and the Digital Transition Action Plan (2021-2027), providing practical and playful guidelines for the implementation of gender-sensitive policies and accountability processes in an economic sector still very marked by gender inequities.