Sexism not the only reason for lack of women devs, says Pratchett

There's been a lot of talk about sexism in the games industry of late, but Rhianna Pratchett thinks that might not be the only thing keeping women from choosing a career in development. Speaking with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the writer behind games like Tomb Raider and Heavenly Sword offered some alternative reasons for a lack of gender balance in the industry.

"[M]y gut feeling is that, by and large, it isn't necessarily male attitudes which keep women out of games development or cause them to burnout," Pratchett said. "Instead, it's a combination of a poor work-life balancing conditions, a lack of awareness of the opportunities out there, and dwindling creative diversity. And these are problems that have a huge impact on the industry as a whole."

To remedy the situation, Pratchett suggested improving working conditions for all developers, reducing the burnout rate, and increasing awareness in the industry. Even so, she added that it was still important to talk about the overt sexism in the industry.

"Companies need to witness the sales and customers they're losing out on before they'll actually start changing anything," Pratchett said.