To celebrate International Women's Day and Women’s History Month, our local employee resource group in Sweden, Women's Ultimate Team (WUT), hosted a workshop with Girls Make Games—an organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering young girls to pursue careers in the game development industry, where women continue to be underrepresented.

Fifteen girls aged 9-13 joined us in our Stockholm office to learn about careers in gaming and build their own video game with the support from EA mentors. 

We started the day with a panel featuring DICE developers Iris Kotsinas (Software Engineer), Sanna Nivhede (Character Art Director), and Laura Lohikoski Hakansson (Animator) - led by Linda Javidi (Sr Operations Manager). During the panel the developers talked about their work, how they contribute to building games, and their journey into the industry.

Following the panel, the attendees had the opportunity to get hands-on experience building their own game. Throughout the day the group learned how to use tools to help them build levels, animate characters, set up objectives, add music, and debug their games. By the end of the day, everyone had built their own platformer that could be shared with the rest of the group, as well as family and friends.

This workshop was a fantastic opportunity for young girls to explore the world of game development - and learn about the industry from experienced mentors in a safe and supportive environment. 

This was a truly inspiring and empowering experience for everyone involved and we can't wait to see what these talented girls will accomplish in the future!

Thank you  Girls Make Games, and to those that took part in the day. Extra shoutout to Linda Javidi (Senior Manager, DICE), Jewell Morelli (Sr Development Director, DICE), Terese Ljungblom (Executive Assistant, EA), Filipha Granlund (Workplace Experience Specialist, EA), Viktoria Anselm (Senior Brand Manager, DICE), Mónica Villanueva Aylagas (Research Engineer, SEED), Julia Holmlund (Technical Designer, DICE), Ahman Hung (Development Director, DICE), Alexandra Ryd (Engineering Program Manager, EADP), Linn Wikstål (Development Director, BCT), Iris Kotsinas (Associate Software Engineer, DICE), Elisabet Gretarsdottir (Chief of Staff, DICE), Emma Easter (Associate Brand Manager, EA) and Julia Zottis (Software Engineer, BCT) for their generosity in mentoring the participants, their patience and kindness.

Women’s Ultimate Team Sweden will continue to promote diversity in the gaming industry and to inspire young girls to explore the exciting world of video game development!