The Women in Games International Conference was recently held and featured a keynote address by Midway Austin studio head Denise Fulton, who talked about what’s right and wrong in the industry, and why this is a great time for women in games.

From the article:

“This is a great time to be getting into the industry,” Fulton said first off. “If you take nothing else away, I want you to take that away. The game industry is continuing to grow. You hear a lot right now about it being a platform transition.”

“What that means to you, as perspective employees, is that everyone is hiring right now, like mad. There are tons of jobs out there. People are looking for artists, designers, programmers, producers, you name it, they’re looking for it, believe me.”

Fulton then cited workforce statistics, showing that in 1950, 30 percent of women worked, compared with 70 percent six years ago. “We’re rapidly becoming equal players in the larger workforce.”

“More women are playing games.” Citing a study that showed women outnumbered men as players in the 24 to 35 year-old demographic, Fulton granted that casual games were a factor.

“However I think there’s an appetite there. As we get online, as the games start getting more interactive, more social, women are getting more and more interested in what it means to play games.”

Fulton concluded by citing the Game Developer Magazine salary survey which showed an increase of female developers, from 7 percent two years ago to 10 percent this year, which is still a minor rate of increase. “That fact is, women are not applying for the job," she said.

Denise Fulton had a lot more to say in her keynote, so be sure to head on over to Next-Gen.biz to read even more of her thoughts on the subject matter.