The Education Department of the Council of Europe organised a panel session on 24 November 2023 at the Milan Games Week. The panel discussed gender equality in video games and addressed the role of digital citizenship education in this regard.

While gaming should be for everyone, it is still very much gendered: women and non-binary individuals are underrepresented in many areas of gaming, and regularly encounter gendered harassment when gaming and participating in game culture events. Video game culture is not a monolith, however, and there is also cause for optimism: the past decade especially has seen increasing diversity and representation in both games and the gaming industry as well as pushback against discrimination and bigotry.

Prominent gaming academic and industry experts discussed the complex gender issues in gaming cultures, and looked for ways of building a more welcoming, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Find here the factsheet originated from the discussion, and here the audio of the panel.

Introduction

Ahmet Murat KILIC, Head of the Digital Transformation and E-learning Unit, Council of Europe

Alessandro SORIANI, Council of Europe Expert on Digital Citizenship Education, University of Bologna

Sara "Kurolily" STEFANIZZI, Italian streamer on ”Twitch”

Discussion

Moderator: Mikko MERILÄINEN, Game Research Lab, Tampere University, Finland

Marcus MALONEY, Assistant Professor, Coventry University, UK

Maya LORÉAL, Senior Manager - Inclusive Games & Content, Ubisoft, France

Giovanna VILLANI, Senior Manager- Business Acquisitions, Digital Bros, Italy

Emma WESTECOTT, Associate Professor, OCAD University,Canada/UK