When it comes to diversity in the gaming industry, women are under-represented. Here at Hutch, this is something we want to change. We’re on a mission to encourage more women and girls to explore opportunities in the world of gaming. And this starts with our own studios and company culture, as well as how we recruit. We want to attract more women to come and join us at Hutch, and we want to embrace and maintain a culture that welcomes and supports women. 

We’re proud of our workplaces in London, Dundee and Nova Scotia and we’ve won a Best Place to Work award for 4 years in a row - so you don’t have to just take our word for it! We have a ‘people first’ approach, which has seen us introduce practices that support wellbeing, autonomy and development for all Hutchies. And as part of our commitment to being a place of work that welcomes and empowers women, we want to share with you what we’re currently doing to support women at Hutch.

Inclusive Recruiting

An important part of redressing the imbalance of women in the games industry is to ensure that our recruitment process treats everyone equally. To do this, we make sure that the following are key parts of this process:

• We offer a standardised interview process, aiming to eliminate bias

• We ensure that we have mixed interview panels to better highlight focus on a diverse and inclusive environment

• All of our contract templates are gender neutral

• All staff receive unconscious bias training

• We offer interview slots outside of traditional work hours

In fostering an inclusive workplace, diversity hiring isn't just a checkbox; it's a commitment for us at Hutch. Confronting any unconscious biases in the recruitment process is paramount, but we also recognise that continuous dialogue about diversity is just as crucial.

Training Initiatives

We’re always looking for ways to offer women at Hutch training that meets their needs, as well as offering development opportunities to help their career progression. So far this year we’ve had:

• Women in the Lead workshop

• An all staff equity webinar and Q&A

• An all staff Allyship webinar

• Leadership EDI training

And still to come in 2024:

• Internal hiring manager training

• Microaggressions training

• Inclusive work experience and internship programmes

Here’s what Charlotte, a Senior Artist in the Creative Services team, had to say about taking part in the Women in the Lead workshops:

To help empower women at Hutch we were invited to a Women in the Lead Workshop. This was an open and safe space for us to talk about the areas where we didn’t feel confident and gave us the tools to improve. We looked at topics including: ‘Creating an empowered physical and vocal presence’, ‘being able to deliver our ideas in an engaging and compelling manner’ and ‘managing nerves when under pressure.’ It was very tailored to us individually as we did the workshop in small groups, giving everyone who attended a voice. 

I really appreciate that Hutch gives us the opportunity to participate in workshops like this. One of the key skills I took away from the workshop was using more assertive language during presentations, which I have since put into practice. I look forward to other workshops and training in the future.

Working From Home

At Hutch we’ve always had a hybrid work from home and office split. During the pandemic we all worked fully from home, and we now work in the office for 2 days a week, with 2 days working from home as part of our 4 Day Week. Having 2 days working from home is particularly helpful for mums or pregnant women, where being closer to home makes life much easier for things like appointments and dropping kids off at school / childcare.

Here’s Line, a QA Tester on F1 Clash to talk about how working from home twice a week helped her as a new mum…

Having a family and working at Hutch, for me, is not in conflict with each other. The combination of having a 4 day work week, two days in the office and two working from home as well as some flexibility in working hours means that I can do the majority of the school runs and I can choose to have my youngest at home on Fridays (saving money on childcare).

If you are a parent to young children and are considering applying for a job at Hutch, I would absolutely say go for it. Hutch says that they want to fit work around family and that family comes before work. I have found this to be very true for me.

We hope this has given you a bit of insight into how we support and empower women at Hutch. Check out the links below for more info on working at Hutch, plus some other useful resources. And if you’re looking to start a new chapter in your career and Hutch sounds like your kind of place, we’d love to hear from you!

Useful Links

Careers at Hutch - Fancy joining us? Check out our latest vacancies in London, Dundee and Nova Scotia. 

The Hutch 4 Day Week - find out more about exactly how the 4 Day Week works here at Hutch. 

The Hutch Blog - head over to our blog for loads more content from women at Hutch on what it’s like to work here, plus tips and advice on how to get into the industry.

Women in Games - an organisation striving to get more women into games and esports, providing lots of events and ways to connect with women in the industry.

Training:

Allyship training, Courageous Leadership training and Microaggressions training, Roxanne Hobbs from the Hobbs Consultancy

Women in the Lead training, Amy Tez

Equity webinar & Q&A - Reg Amoah