“The only skill that is really important”... Talent development of female young professionals in a video game company

Abstract

Previous research has shown that women in video game companies are confronted with several barriers regarding their career chances and advancement within the industry. Masculinity in organizations is considered to be one major reason for this, with women lacking access to internal networks and other social factors which hinders their advancement. As gendered working environments are considered to be the result of social constructions, one has to understand associated dynamics when having the will to restructure them. To get to know more about the situation of women in video game companies we conducted a qualitative field study in an associated organization in a large city in Germany. We found that women are confronted with masculinity at three stages during their career lifetime within a company: 1) onboarding, 2) skill usage and 3) career development.