IGDA survey: Male technical workers more than double women

There are twice as many men working in technical roles across the games industry as there are women.

That’s according to the latest developer satisfaction survey by the International Game Developers Association, which analyses the past two years of data on working conditions and diversity for devs around the world.

28 per cent of male participants reported they worked in technical roles, while only 11 per cent of women held similar positions. However, there is more parity between male and female respondents in management roles at 37 and 38 per cent respectively.

That said, there is still work to be done at increasing the diversity of management as only three per cent of workers of colour reported to have senior management roles. This is significantly lower than the 23 per cent of white respondents in comparable jobs.

Interestingly, the perception of diversity is improving with 49 per cent of workers of colour believing there to be equal treatment for all employees in 2015. This is an improvement on the 23 per cent who said the same for 2014.

31 per cent of respondents declared some form of disability, mostly in the area of mental health. This is higher than the national figures for the US and Canada, which are 19 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

Finally, the survey reveals that pay gaps between groups have yet to close. Men dominate the highest income bracket, with 10 per cent of male respondents earning $150,000 – only three per cent of women have similar salaries. Women dominate income brackets in the middle, with 41 per cent of female participants earning betweren $40,000 and $75,000 compared to 29 per cent male.

Only 17 per cent of white workers earned less than $15,000 per year, while 26 per cent of workers of colour reported to be in this bracket. When it comes to freelancing, 81 per cent of workers of colour earn less than $40,000, as opposed to 66 per cent of white freelancers.

You can read more in the graphs below. Click for larger versions.