Happy International Women’s day from all of us here at CeX!
In the spirit of the day, we’ve made a list of inspiring women from the tech and entertainment industries that you should know about. These women have helped shape tech, gaming and entertainment today and we can’t wait to see what’s next!
Jameela Jamil
Star of The Good Place, Jameela Jamil started out as an English teacher and has now risen to fame as Tahani in NBC’s The Good Place. In 2015 Jamil launched Why Not People? An events and membership community dedicated to hosting accessible live entertainment events. In March 2018 Jamil started the social movement I Weigh and was subsequently named in BBC’s 100 Women. This year, she won Stylist’s Woman of the year. Jamil is unapologetically frank and we love it. Definitely, one to watch.
Carol Shaw
One of the first female game designers makes our list. Carol Shaw’s the one to thank for retro classics like 3D Tic-Tac-Toe (Atari 2600), River Raid (Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit & Atari 5200), and Happy Trails (Intellivision). Her unpublished Polo is the first documented game programmed & designed by a woman. In 2017 she won The Game Award - Industry Icon Award. She was quoted by a colleague as being “simply the best programmer of the 6502 [an 8-bit microprocessor] and probably one of the best programmers, period.” She was so successful in her career that she was able to retire at 35 and along with Dona Bailey and Carla Meninsky, opened the door for women in gaming.
Kim Swift
Previously noted in Forbes “30 under 30” influential figures in the video game industry, Kim Swift made her name as one of the developers for Valve’s Portal. Described as one of the most recognized women in the industry and “an artist that will push the medium forward”. Swift has also worked on Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Quantum Conundrum, Half-Life 2 Episodes One & Two and Star Wars Battlefront II. Still, under 40, she has achieved so much and is definitely a name to look out for.
Amy Hennig
Video game director and script-writer Amy Hennig started her career with Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City on the NES. Hennig has a had a lengthy career and some highlights include Jak and Daxter, The Uncharted Series and Battlefield Hardline. Hennig has won a BAFTA special Award and is due to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards later this month. Hennig is a fantastic example of a successful woman in a male-dominated industry and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
Rana El-Kaliouby
Computer scientist and entrepreneur Rana El-Kaliouby specialises in expression recognition research and technology development. El-Kaliouby is CEO of Affectiva, an emotion measurement technology company that has developed software to recognise human emotions based on physiological responses. The technology has a multitude of uses that range from helping brands improve their advertising - to working with games, enabling them to change user experience based on reaction. Affectiva has also developed a sensor to measure changes in emotional states via their skin. The technology has limitless applications and is ultimately looking to help on the autism spectrum. El-Kaliouby was also part of the team that developed the “emotional hearing aid”, glasses that read emotion and was featured in the New York Times top 100 innovations in 2006. To see more, El-Kaliouby features in Do you trust this computer?
Happy International Women’s day to these trailblazers & to all women across the world!
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