Empower Up is a new platform to help support UK games studios, publishers, service providers and employees on their Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) journeys.
Award-winning specialist games recruitment agency Amiqus and Ukie’s #RaiseTheGame initiative have today launched Empower Up, a comprehensive platform to equip games companies of all sizes with the knowledge, frameworks, guidance and resources they need to establish, improve or grow their Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) policies, practices and processes.
Empower Up is suitable for all games companies, wherever they are on their EDI journey. For those looking to gain more understanding about what EDI is and why it’s important, the Intro To EDI section provides an overview. It also provides a summary of each Protected Characteristic and other Under-Represented Groups, along with some specific advice and guidance on each.
At the heart of Empower Up is a practical Health Check tool that enables games companies to benchmark where they are on their individual, current EDI journey. This will then signpost those companies and individuals to specific areas of the website where they can gain relevant advice and actionable steps on how to move forwards.
The EDI Journey section provides just that information and guidance, covering a number of areas, including:
- Getting Started
- Your Workplace Culture
- Recruitment & Hiring
- Staff Development & Retention
- Marketing & Communications
- Accessibility & Representation
- Activities & Outreach
- Legal Requirements
Meanwhile, a Resources section will provide inspirational Case Studies from studios already doing great work in EDI; a Directory of EDI organisations and initiatives; and a Glossary of Terms area. News and Events will also be regularly updated.
Studios and individuals are encouraged to sign up to become Empower Up Members, which will provide additional benefits, namely:
- Save your Health Check results, allowing you to monitor your progress.
- Bookmark articles to save in your personal Reading List
- Receive a monthly newsletter
- VIP invitations to Empower Up events
Empower Up is a not-for-profit, industry-led platform from Amiqus and Ukie’s #RaiseTheGame.
Amiqus is headed up by Business Manager Liz Prince who also launched the pro bono initiative G Into Gaming initiative five years ago to encourage more women and girls to consider a career in games, and then to support them in the industry. She is also a Women in Games Ambassador and a regular speaker on EDI topics at industry events. She said:
“There are many studios and employees who know that making their organisations a more inclusive, equal and welcoming place is the right thing to do – but often they just don’t know where to start, or how to progress. That is where the idea for Empower Up was created. There are some brilliant organisations and initiatives out there, but nothing that pulled everything together in one place to help studios to take actionable steps in this area. Empower Up has been a real labour of love, and we’re really proud and happy that it’s now ready to help games companies in the UK push forward with their EDI efforts.”
Ukie’s #RaiseTheGame initiative aims to get games businesses of all sizes to pledge to improve EDI through diverse recruiting practices, building inclusive working environments and representing voices in their games. Dom Shaw is the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator for Ukie, as well as managing #RaiseTheGame. He said:
“It’s really exciting to see Empower Up come to life, and we thank both Amiqus and our leading #RaiseTheGame partners for supporting this important project. We all want the games industry to be a more diverse and inclusive community, in which people from all backgrounds are welcome, valued and can flourish in their careers. Empower Up exists to literally empower organisations and individuals in the UK games industry to take their EDI knowledge and practices to the next level, using both measurable and actionable steps. We look forward to seeing it in action at studios around the UK and beyond.”
