There's a lot of initiatives out there for "women in games" or "women in tech" these days.

I used to volunteer my time for a lot of these kinds of diversity initiatives.

But having seen behind a few curtains, I'd ask you to check a few things before you sign up:

Is everyone involved volunteering, or is it just you? Perhaps there is actually a man profiting and laughing behind the whole thing. Check, it happens!

Is there REAL diversity in the line-up? “Women” is a pretty big clump, and a lot of organisers are happy enough to say “We’re diverse, there’s women!” Uh-uh. Are there Black women? Are there trans women? Are there women from different countries, religions, cultures?

What is the purpose of this initiative? If the purpose is just to throw more women into unfriendly spaces, ask what the organisers are doing to make the spaces friendly for when they get there.

Who is it for?
Why is it happening?
How is it organised?
What values are intrinsic to this initiative?
Do I agree with those values?

Ask the questions!

Worst thing that can happen = they don’t want you on board anymore… & that’s fine if the above points don’t check out, right?