NYT features research from PhD student Tanya Pobuda

Board game industry research conducted by Catalyst Member and Communication and Culture PhD student Tanya Pobuda was featured today in the New York Times (external link, opens in new window) . Her wide-ranging study of the Top 100 and Top 200 board games as ranked by the website BoardGameGeek.com (BGG) found that the overwhelming majority of game designers and illustrators were white males. White female or non-white designers and illustrators (defined as those of Asian, African, Hispanic and/or First Peoples descent) were under-represented. 

The research (external link, opens in new window)  found that the Top 200 BGG-ranked games featured 275 white male game designers, representing 93.5 percent of the total White women and non-white men represented only 2.4 percent and 4.1 percent of the total game designers respectively, and there were no women of color designers in this data sample.

"This research represents an important step toward further identifying challenges with diversity and inclusion in the board game industry. Since the launch of the study in December 2018, there has been an ongoing and productive discussion within the industry. I am pleased to see the study continue to gain traction," said Tanya Pobuda, a second-year PhD student. 

Tanya's research was also featured recently on the popular Stuff Your Mom Never Told You podcast in the Women in Tabletop Gaming Development (external link, opens in new window)  episode (8 Feb 2019).

Catch Tanya in The Catalyst, or connect with her directly over coffee.

For more information, contact:

Tanya Pobuda
Communication and Culture, PhD program
tpobuda@torontomu.ca