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This is a press release posted in addition to our usual editorial content.
Ukie has launched the second UK Games Industry Census to once again authoritatively assess workforce diversity in the sector.
The census, which will be conducted, administered and analysed entirely independently of industry by the University of Sheffield, will build upon the work of the ground-breaking 2020 report that provided the industry with an intersectional and nuanced understanding of its workforce.
As with the previous census, respondents are asked a series of questions about what role they have in the games industry, their characteristics – such as age or gender – and their background such as the circumstances they grew up in.
Additional questions have been added to help track trends between the first and second census to understand areas of continuity and change in the workforce diversity profile.
This year’s survey has also been expanded to cover some additional ground in relation to working patterns and access needs to generate an even deeper profile of the games industry workforce.
Once again, the Census will take less than ten minutes to complete with all data will be collected anonymously in aggregate to protect the confidentiality of all participants.
The ambition is to more than double the number of respondents to the first census, which reached over 3,200 people (20%) of the UK games industry in 2019.
Enacting the second round of the census also fulfils a commitment from industry to continue to assess the diversity of its workforce, alongside the wider #RaiseTheGame pledge.
A number of companies have committed to partner with the census including Jagex, Curve Digital, Splash Damage and nDreams, with more businesses to be announced in the weeks ahead.
“It’s great that the UK games industry is continuing to support independent research on its workforce,” said Dr Mark Taylor, University of Sheffield. “The last census allowed us to generate a set of baseline numbers, and this one will allow us to understand how things have changed in the last two years, as well as asking more detailed questions in some areas. With Monday’s launch in parliament of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity report on what works in equality, diversity and inclusion in the creative sector, this work has never been more timely.”
“We strongly encourage everyone working in the UK games industry to take part in the census again. The process is entirely anonymised, and the team at the University of Sheffield are expert in collecting and analysing this kind of critical information across different sectors,” said Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of Ukie. “The first census played a crucial role in understanding what our starting point was as an industry in terms of who we were, and it gave a strong foundation to our sector’s efforts to become more equal, diverse and inclusive. Taking part and publicly backing it from your business will help drive that work forward.”
“We believe that teams create the best work when they have a range of perspectives and experiences to draw from,” said a spokesperson from Splash Damage. “Seizing moments like this to raise awareness and understand where we stand with issues of diversity and inclusion is essential, and will enrich our industry and the games we create. We are proud to be partners of Ukie’s UK Games Industry Census and the critical work they are doing for our industry.”
There are two main ways that people can participate in the census:
- Individuals, or businesses with fewer than 20 employees, can use a public link to respond to the census.
- Companies with more than 20 employees should request a pack from the Ukie team to help share the survey securely across their business.
The deadline for participating in the UK Games Industry Census is Friday 19th November. For more information about the census, head to www.ukie.org.uk/census2022.
