Poche e periferiche : comunità professionale e disparità di genere nell'industria dei videogiochi

The article examines gender disparities within the creative industries, with a par-ticular focus on the video game development sector in Italy. It investigates the role of the professional community of game developers in shaping the limited participation of women in the field, as well as their vertical and horizontal segregation. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with workers, analysis of their interactions on Facebook, and participant observation conducted during a national gaming convention, the study finds that the professional community plays a critical regulatory role in a sector char-acterized by weak formal regulation. This community contributes to the reproduction of gender inequalities in two key ways: indirectly, by promoting values and organiza-tional practices that hinder women's access to and retention in the labour market; and directly, by circulating gendered representations and stereotypes that devalue women as professionals, both in the workplace and within video game content

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