received a sharp wake-up call this month from [URL=http://www.develop-online.net/news/34177/Organisers-cancel-Women-in-Games-conference-2010?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+developmag%2Fifbh+%28Develop%29]Develop[/URL], a trade magazine who reported the cancellation of the annual Women in Games conference in Bradford, U.K. Why was the gathering called off? Too few delegates signed up to participate. This year would have been its seventh, and now it's dead. Oops.

Emblazoned on the conference organizer's website were the words: "The Times recently published a poll naming the '10 Brits who changed video games forever.' All ten were men. Join WFTV for a panel discussion about why the gaming industry has been dominated by men, and what opportunities are available for women."

Does this mean that encouraging more women to work in game development is a lost cause? Is it a signal that the industry doesn't really care if there's a disproportionate number of women to men in the industry? Do we even need to encourage women if this is true? Aren't new games coming along just fine with the few women involved now? ([URL=http://bitmob.com/articles/how-do-we-get-more-women-to-make-games]MORE[/URL])