Rovio announces MumJam

Angry Birds developer Rovio is launching a new initiative designed to help older, more experienced women enter the games industry.

MumJam 2017 will be a weekend-long game jam where teams will create a playable prototype from scratch. While the name suggests this is targeted specifically at mothers, Rovio has stressed that it is open to everybody from all different backgrounds.

The jam will be held from November 11th to 12th and aims to have at least one mum per team, working with fellow games developers in order to network and explore the possibility of career in games development.

The idea is to seek mothers who hope to find work in the industry but have struggled to get back to work since having children and connect them with established professionals, all while enjoying the creative challenge of developing a game.

The venture was announced during today's European Women In Games Conference in London by Michelle Simon, senior recruiter at Rovio London.

"It's really important to us to create a diverse workforce," Simon told attendees. "Obviously, there are already a lot of things going on in the industry in support of students but what we wanted to focus on was more experienced talent and hopefully encourage more mums into the workplace as they struggle to get back to work after having children."

Participants will be able to register their interest via bit.ly/mumjam17. Free on-site childcare will be provided throughout the jam.