Is the cliché true that computer games are just for geeky blokes? Rather than countering this pervasive idea a new course at Derby University may help to confirm it. The university has developed a new BSc in Computer Games Programming in association with Microsoft and in its first year has attracted over 100 applications - but not one of them is from a woman.

It’s not unusual for subjects such as electronic engineering and computer sciences to be dominated by men, with a typical ratio of 10:1 in most universities. The jobs in these fields, too, tend to be taken by men. However, when it comes to computer games, girls are becoming as interested as boys, certainly as avid games players.

John Sear, a lecturer in computer games at Derby is aware that the lack of women on the course is something the university must address.

"We are very pleased with the interest this new course has already generated; reflecting the demand for jobs in what is a multi-billion pound global industry. But the lack of applications from women is something that we would like to address.

“Initiatives to attract more women to the course range from open days and a summer camps for prospective female students where they can learn more about the subject area and the job prospects it offers.”

The male-dominance of the course is also a reflection in the games industry itself. Lizzie Haines, a prominent female computer games pioneer and government advisor, believes that there needs to be more work done to attract women, both by universities and the games industry.

“Girls don’t know that they can work in the games industry, they’re not told that games is a good career choice either at school or at university, and if they don’t play games themselves it may never occur to them to try it.

“If they do, they find that it’s full of challenges and the opportunity to do cutting-edge programming, as well as offering good pay, great prospects, and the chance to be creative.”

Currently just 17 per cent of the games industry workforce is female, and only 2 per cent of those women are employed as programmers - most work in areas of marketing and management.

“There are very few women in the industry, but those there are say that it’s a great place to work, except they’d like more women colleagues. That would help women feel more at home there, and most important for the industry itself, it would help companies to make more games that females want to play.”

Computer games and the people who play them have come a long way since Atari’s Pong first invaded homes in 1975. The average age of a video games player is now 29 and the number of women regularly playing computer games is growing. A 2003 report by the Entertainment Software Association found that 26 per cent of computer games players were women, a figure that rose to 39 per cent last year, exploding the myth that games are the sole preserve of geeky teenage boys.

“The industry is waking up to this: they want to make games now for everybody, not just for a small group of boys and men in their bedrooms, but games for women and older people, games for whole families to play, games to play sociably over the internet, games to play by phone.

“To do that, they need to know what makes the female half of the world tick. There’ s never been a better time for girls to get into games.”

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