Video gaming association commits $1 million to support Black Girls Code

ESA, a trade association for the video game industry, announced works through its philanthropic arm, the ESA Foundation, to invest $ 1 million over the next two years to provide direct financial support, volunteer time investments and other industry resources to support technology education, workshops and tutorials. The effort will be made in collaboration with BGC to attract more women of color to the technology and gaming industry

Staten said ESA also considered the current composition of the technology industry, with women representing only 26% of the computer workforce, with 3% African American, according to the National Center for Women and Information Technology.

“When we looked specifically at Black Girls Code, the programming they offered, the recommendations of young women who have gone through their program, and their diversity and outreach across the country, they really spoke to us,” Staten said.

This ESA partnership will enable collaboration between the broader technology and gaming industry with BGC chapters across the country, including Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC

“By cultivating the next generation of developers, we hope to grow the number of women of color in the technology sector who will eventually become future leaders in this space,” BGC said in a statement included in ESA’s press release .

Staten said ESA plans to hold workshops this summer in which girls will be exposed to basic game design, which will allow them to establish and grow programming skills.

ESA will also leverage its member companies, which include Microsoft, Nintendo and Epic Games, to service its workshops. Virtual workshops are also being planned, so girls living in cities where BGC has no chapters can still participate.

After this two-year program with BGC, Staten said ESA hopes to learn and assess how it can continue to support women in the technology and games industry.