Levelling Up Equality: Navigating Gender Barriers in China’s Gaming Workforce

The gaming industry meaningfully suffers from significant gender inequality, reflected in the underrepresentation of women in the workforce generally and their absence from leadership and core creative roles in game development. Existing literature has extensively explored the exclusion of femininity in game culture and particular obstacles confronting women in this field. However, less attention has been directed toward the micro-level situations – specifically, how corporate diversity programs may improve/strengthen gender inequality in the industry. Considering the scale of China’s gaming market and the recent rise of games targeted toward women, this study compares the equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) policies and their practical effects across traditional and female-oriented gaming companies. Employing a feminist institutionalist perspective, this paper presents case studies of leading Chinese companies Tencent Games and Papergames, incorporating a comparative analysis with Nintendo and other relevant contextual information. Findings indicate that current EDI policies implemented by traditional gaming companies are insufficient to meaningfully address gender inequality. While female-oriented games may expand opportunities for women in key creative roles, they simultaneously risk further entrenching gender segregation.