Since our studio’s inception in 2008, we’ve grown drastically in numbers including some incredibly talented women across our development and support teams. The road to creating AAA games isn’t the most travelled, and it's been inspiring to help our female team members excel in a male-dominated gaming space as we do more to address the challenges.
OUR JOURNEY TOWARDS AN ALL-INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT
To continue supporting our talented ladies in their studio life, Ubisoft Singapore launched the Power Up: Women Leadership program – an empowerment curriculum designed to tackle the unique barriers and challenges women face in the industry. In line with the SG Women in Tech company pledge we made in 2021, the Power Up: Women Leadership program aims to:
Empower female employees to lead the change towards building an inclusive industry
Create and foster a safe space for female employees to grow
Support our female employees to navigate the industry and reach their goals
Rally fellow studio allies in tackling and acknowledging biases
POWER UP PILOT RUN
Spread over the course of four months, the Power Up program focused on cultivating a safe space for growth and open conversation around influence, trust, and communication development. In the final session rounding out the initial pilot run, 15 female team members came together for an end-of-program celebration to share their learning experiences and stories from joining the gaming industry.
Coach Subin Hong (top left) and our first batch of Power Up ladies from the studio
FROM SPORTS AND ENGINEERING TO GAMING
Growing up in a sports-orientated family, Project Coordinator Chloe Bayzelon has always had a natural inclination towards athletics, but she also has a background in Electrical Engineering.
“I always felt the constant need to prove myself, especially in sports and studies.” Chloe says. “My main focus was being a work in progress, but I was never satisfied hence a huge overhaul in changing my mindset.”
Now part of a close-knit team at the Singapore studio, Chloe navigates the gaming space by embracing her creative side. “We always have a choice in our reactions and decisions, and we need to be less apologetic and unafraid of taking up space.” She says. “I entered the gaming industry as my own authentic awesome self. It all starts with a mindset to help the gaming industry to become more welcoming.”
TAKING A LEAP OF FAITH WITH THE ARTS
In the case of Jewell Koh, 3D Artist at Ubisoft Singapore and co-founder of The Sagakaya Collective, mundane was never the answer. Jewell shares that her love for games first came about with video game projects in university.
“I deconstructed the content of the program, picked out what worked for me, then planted it in my own garden to become a part of myself.” Jewell says. “Rather than the frameworks learnt, what was strongly bolstered was my belief in myself. The next step will come from a place of self-confidence and resilience, so take that leap of faith.”
Our own takeaway as a studio? Every journey starts off differently, some smooth sailing and others tough as bones. On days where self-doubts appear, we say ask questions – what your dreams, goals, and aspirations are. If the video game industry is somewhere in that list, create planned happenstances and as Jewell says, “Chase your dreams, because we’ve got your back!”.
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