When I began employment at WayForward in 2001, I was the only female among the 12-20 employees (at that time). This wasn’t a role I sought, as it can be uncomfortable to be the only one. But the animation program I went through in college was about 80% male, so I was used to the ratio. There isn’t much difference between men and women in a work environment.

I’d say the biggest hurdle that I’ve faced as a woman in a male-dominated field is the inevitable barrier to close friendships.
Guys will chat with me, but it ends when the topic turns to wives, girlfriends, porn, hardcore games, or team sports. We talk about movies or books if we’re not talking work. Some tech guys feel so uncomfortable around women, they won’t talk to one at all. Some guys are so concerned with proving their manhood to those in doubt, they’ll overdo a macho attitude.

The problem this presents to women is very subtle: Networking. When you work in an industry for many years, you rely on trustworthy insiders to gain information. A couple of guys who are buddies after work might share gossip about so-and-so at EA who needs a new lead animator, or a great new tool in the latest version of 3D Studio Max. I don’t always hear bad things about a certain new employee until I’m dealing with him myself. I miss out on some useful gossip because I don’t play X-Box Live every night with the guys.

At first, I thought my semi-isolation might be because I’m reticent by nature. But I’ve worked with a few women over the years, and found that I connect more easily with them. I go to lunch with the other two female employees and swap stories. We’ll try to guess who’s gay, who’s single, and who’s a jerk at our company.

Why is it important to have male allies in your field? It’s vital. I don’t see how anyone can get along in a chosen profession without allies. However, this really isn’t so hard to do. Men and women are very similar.

I can list a few mistakes that I’ve seen women make in the game industry:

1. Too proud to learn—Some women avoid asking questions because they don’t want to look stupid. In their effort to avoid looking stupid, they come across as totally incompetent.

I once saw a female intern who kept six copies of 3DS Max running at once. She’d been told how that slows the computer and causes instability, but she apparently didn’t understand, and was too proud to ask for clarification. The guys gave up offering advice and just made fun of her behind her back.

Never be ashamed to ask questions. Everyone does it. You might meet guys who act as if they were born experts in their field, but don’t let their swagger fool you. They learn by talking to other experts.

2. Lack of confidence—Some women get intimidated by a loud, obnoxious guy.

I once had a boss who flung insults at his employees, making mean little jabs, calling them stupid or slow. I began to worry that he was right, so I worked harder and harder, eventually pulling 14-hour days. I slowly became aware that he was offloading his own workload onto me, and my personal life was suffering because of it. This was a sort of praise from him, because he trusted me to do his own work. I began to realize that the rest of the company had no problem with my art, and some of my coworkers even admired it. When I finally stood up to this boss and told him that I was tired of taking his workload, I actually got a round of applause from my coworkers. And then I was laid off—but it was worth it! My next job offer was for twice my previous salary.

Never let someone else dictate your talent. I think some women, especially those who grew up as overachievers, only listen to criticism; they ignore praise. Be objective and listen to criticism and praise.

3. Lack of drive—Some women give up on learning a new career skill if they can’t use it immediately.

My first job role was as an animator. When I asked if I could do 3D modeling, they told me, “No, we don’t have time to train you. Here’s a bunch more animation work. Get busy.” But I knew 3D modeling was a skill I wanted to have in my future career, so I asked the lead 3D artists if they would teach me on their own time. Both artists agreed. Not only did I learn 3D modeling in a matter of days, but they taught me all kinds of techniques I never would have picked up in a class or online. Once I knew how to model and had experimented enough to make samples, I reminded my director again and again, until he gave me a 3D modeling assignment.

I guess some of my experiences make the game industry sound hellish, but it hasn’t been. I find 99% of my male coworkers easy to work with. I owe all of my knowledge of software to guys who made me feel comfortable with asking questions. The sharing of knowledge goes both ways; when I find a new technique, I share it with my coworkers.

The worst thing you can do is close yourself off. If your coworkers are uncomfortable around you, they might not share techniques that allow you to work faster. If you’re stuck working in a slow or backwards way, you’ll never have time to learn the nuances that make you stand out as an employee.

Tags: Art

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 10:24 pm and is filed under Art, INSPIRATION, Women. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.