Lauren Kaye Shares Her Journey as Founder of She Plays Games: A Podcast Empowering Women in the Gaming Industry

Welcome to my latest Diversity in Games interview series with powerful women in the games industry! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Lauren, a dynamic woman in the gaming industry who is dedicated to promoting diversity and empowering others to succeed. In this interview, we'll delve into Lauren's journey in the gaming industry, her experiences with She Plays Games, and her insights on the importance of diversity and inclusion. So, without further ado, let's get started!

Fida: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started with "She Plays Games"?

Lauren: My name is Lauren Kaye and I am the Program Coordinator for the Limit Break Mentorship Program as well as the host and creator of the podcast, She Plays Games. SPG was born out of a desire to give the next generation of women in the games industry something I didn’t have growing up - role models. Women who were doing various roles in the games industry and loving their careers. I decided to make it an interview show to make as many of the amazing women in the games industry visible as I could.??

Fida: What inspired you to create a podcast specifically focused on women in the games industry?

Lauren: There wasn’t really a show like it at the time. There were plenty of men’s voices you could find or shows that featured a woman host but all of her guests were men. It just was so hard to find women who were killing it in roles that maybe weren’t so outward facing. Also for my own benefit - I wanted to chat with more women like me as I was stuck in a place and really still am stuck in a place where gaming is still quite a taboo word.

Fida: How do you go about selecting guests for your podcast and what qualities do you look for in potential interviewees?

Lauren: It’s changed and adapted over the years - at first I had to really hunt. I used contacts I had from when I was a games journalist and then cold call a lot of others. Nowadays I have so many wonderful people who I’ve gotten to know at events and such, I have such a backlog of potential guests, it gets hard to keep on top of things, but I am so grateful and happy to speak with these amazing games industry professionals.

Fida: How do you see "She Plays Games" contributing to the gaming industry as a whole, particularly in terms of diversity and inclusion?

Lauren: As I’m naturally a very insecure imposter in the games industry - I won’t toot my horn too much, but I will say I have had some amazing women come up to me at events saying how much my show has meant to them, how they’ve changed careers thanks to the guests who I’ve had on. I think it’s slowly creating a lovely move in the industry and we’re seeing more women inspired by the guests of the show join. I just hope the industry is ready to support them and help them thrive.

Fida: Can you discuss any memorable moments or guests from your podcast that have stood out to you?

Lauren: So many it’s hard to choose. I really love having people from different countries on. I had Alhvi Balcárcel on the show who is an indie developer for a studio called Selva Interactive from Guatemala on the show to talk about literally being one of two indie devs in the whole of Guatemala and how initiatives like Wings Fund have changed her life and given her the opportunity to be a woman indie dev without having to uproot and come to America or Europe.?

Sylvia Gathoni as well was really eye-opening for me in how there is real geographical privilege even in things like gaming tournaments. We’re so ready to say something is international but unwilling to provide visa support / travel bursaries to influential diverse participants like Sylvia who comes from Kenya. It’s why diversity is so complex an issue and I don’t think we’ll ever truly be done.

Fida: How has the community response been to "She Plays Games" and what kind of impact do you hope to make?

Lauren: It’s been one of love. I think there’s been so many people who have really offered their sincere gratitude for a show like SPG existing which is really amazing. I think the impact I hope it makes is that of inspiration, but also to show the importance of storytelling when it comes to showing diversity. If we don’t know the characters - how can we really even begin to understand what a career in games is about?

Fida: How do you envision the future of the gaming industry in terms of diversity and inclusivity, and how does "She Plays Games" fit into that vision?

Lauren: I think the future of the games industry is getting better. We’re not there yet, but we’re holding people accountable now which is not something we did 10 years ago. I think She Plays Games can still act as an artifact to show the women who are standing up for us in places of power.

Fida: Can you tell us about any upcoming projects or events that "She Plays Games" has planned?

This year seems to be all about travel. SPG has gone to Yorkshire Games Festival and Guildford Games Festival and now next week, I’ll be doing a talk at WASD with a talk at Norwich University of the Arts in April and Develop Brighton coming up in July. I let the opportunities take the lead in a lot of instances particularly because in the UK games industry especially, there’s always something going on.

Fida: What advice would you give to women who are interested in pursuing a career in the gaming industry?

Lauren: It really depends on the field you’re going for - for coding and design related fields game jams are an incredible way to meet others in your field at various levels and is a great way to practice. For more community based roles - practicing community building by working as a moderator and or creating your own community space is great experience. If you are already aware of the field you’d like to get into - joining a mentorship scheme like Limit Break Mentorship is also a fantastic way to meet industry leaders and get to know some other incredible people in the games industry. Ultimately your most valuable tool has to be networking alongside the skills you need for your role.

Fida: Finally, where can listeners go to learn more about "She Plays Games" and get involved with the community?

Lauren: She Plays Games Podcast is available on iTunes and Spotify and we release a new episode every other Tuesday! You can follow us @ShePlaysPodcast on Twitter and Instagram.

Fida: I am extremely grateful for your time, Lauren. Your experiences and perspectives are incredibly valuable, and I have no doubt that our readers will find your journey in the games industry to be inspiring. Your unwavering commitment to promoting diversity and empowering others to succeed is commendable, and I'm honored to have had the opportunity to share your story with our audience.

For those who are interested in staying up-to-date with She Plays Games and their latest podcast initiatives, their LinkedIn page is a great resource to check out. And to all my readers, I highly recommend subscribing to my newsletter to keep up with inspiring women like Lauren and events that empower diversity in the games industry. Lauren, thank you once again for sharing your insights and experiences with us. Your dedication to your work and your advocacy for diversity is truly inspiring!

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