Today on International Women’s Day, we’re taking a moment to celebrate and introduce the Women’s Advisory Board – an Employee Resource Group working in support of women in our studio and industry.
The Women’s Advisory Board was Ubisoft Winnipeg’s first ERG, created in 2019 shortly after the studio was founded. They group is designed to promote a studio culture that encourages STEM literacy for women, and help women grow professionally within the studio. The WAB is also part of a larger, global Women and Non-Binary ERG, that lets them connect, brainstorm, and share ideas with fellow ERG leaders from studios around the world.
The group actively works to support Ubisoft Winnipeg’s commitment towards diversity and reduce the unique barriers women face in pursuing STEM careers, with the aim of growing the number of women at the studio, and women in leadership. One of the biggest points of pride for the WAB is planting a seed for what would become the NOVA program. They saw a gap in opportunities for junior and intermediate women to grow their leadership skills – in response, HR went on to create the Nova Women in Leadership training program, which is still delivered to women at the studio to this day. Graduates of the Nova program now serve as mentors to new women joining the studio. The WAB has also acted as a resource to help eliminate gender bias in job descriptions, and consults on policies and benefits to ensure they’re inclusive and supportive of women at the studio.
But more than anything leaders of the WAB say people join the ERG for the sense of community – a place where everyone can come together in a space where they feel comfortable sharing opinions and ideas that they want to work on. Some have experienced barriers in their careers, and want to see change in the world and lend their support so others don’t experience the same issues. Regardless, they say it’s a place to share their voices. Those voices include allies, who leaders say play an important role in making the ERGs goals something the whole studio works towards together.
While there is still progress to be made, they’ve been encouraged by the change happening even in recent years – some recalled being the only woman in their school project group or internship, and were inspired by how many different women in tech they see and work with today.
Who are the women of Ubisoft Winnipeg? This week we put the spotlight on just a few of them: