Women's History Month at 2K

Women's History Month at 2K is a celebration of women's endeavors and achievements, while also raising awareness on the importance of representation and equity. At 2K, we value the countless contributions that women make across cultures, industries, and functions the world over. As a leader in gaming, we're adamant about fighting back against systemic gender bias and are dedicated to fostering a safe space that embodies the spirit of our company value "Come As You Are."

In honor of Women's History Month, we're proud to introduce you to four incredible women at 2K who pursue their passions, break through bias, and make 2K history every day. 

Shealagh de Vries

Tell us about your role at 2K! What does a typical week look like? 

No day is alike, and even the three game launches I've worked on at 2K have been very different from each other. As an example, on one of the days during launch week for WWE 2K23, I took meetings to plan for the coming fiscal year, connected with with some colleagues from overseas to discuss their plans, worked cross functional teams on bringing international influencers to WrestleMania 39, took a lunch break, regrouped with another cross functional team to go through trailer deliveries for the week, and spent the rest of the afternoon working through emails and jumping into Slack Huddles with colleagues!

How does 2K support and empower its employees? 

When I first started at 2K, I struggled with imposter syndrome, but quickly found a supportive community of women in 2K's Women in Gaming Employee Resource Group. 2K also provides access to Ginger as an employee benefit, a mental healthcare app which offers mindfulness meditations and nice Sunday check-ins that help me focus for the week ahead.

How have you grown professionally while working at 2K? 

I've become much more confident and sure of my strengths during my time at 2K. I've been given many opportunities to flex and grow my leadership, strategic, and public speaking muscles.

What hobbies do you enjoy to recharge away from work? 

I love to cook and bake—the more elaborate the recipe, the better!

What's the best career lesson you've learned so far?

Don't be afraid to take up space, and don't make yourself smaller to fit in. For me, this has meant building up my own belief in myself. I was invited to join a team or a company for a reason, and my voice and opinions do matter.

How do you bring your whole self to work at 2K?

I'm talented at cracking jokes at just the right (and appropriate) moment, and humor helps me and the teams I work with get through the busy periods leading up to game launches.

What career advice do you have for anyone who wants to break into the gaming industry? 

Don't give up, and listen to the people who tell you not to give up. It took me longer than I thought it would to find a role like the one I have now at 2K, with lots of resumes sent and hours spent in virtual interviews. There were lots of moments where I thought, "Maybe this isn't right for me," but it turned out I just hadn't found the right role yet.

Claire Doran

Tell us about your role at 2K! What does a typical week look like? 

My role here is very new to 2K. I am currently examining how we are delivering IT Services to our end users so that we can enable them to do their best work. In a typical week, I'm reviewing existing processes and redesigning them, ideally by introducing efficiencies to either automate them or eliminate them entirely if they're simply not required.

How does 2K support and empower its employees?

I love that I can have very open and honest discussions here and challenge the status quo in how we do things. I've only been here for just under six months, but my previous experience and ideas are truly welcomed. 2K wants to continue to grow and improve how we work as a company, so seeing the impact of your input and ideas come to life is fantastic. Not every company wants this, because change can be uncomfortable. 

How have you grown professionally while working at 2K?

During my time at 2K, I've been working on a future plan for how our department will operate globally. This has allowed me to combine all my skills from previous roles, while also learning how the video game industry works. It feels great that I've been empowered to produce this plan, which has also strengthened my confidence as a leader at 2K.

It's important to be challenged and stretch yourself, so I've felt very fortunate to be a part of the Women in Gaming Employee Resource Group. It's been a fantastic opportunity to get involved in such an important topic.

What hobbies do you enjoy to recharge away from work? 

Some of my hobbies are listening to music and going to live gigs. You can't beat the experience of seeing an artist up close and personal, and it can really take you to another place. I also love live comedy, especially improv. 

I have a passion for the outdoors and nature, and if I can combine that with travel it's even better. I always have some travel ideas brewing about where I plan to go next. This is probably my biggest passion, as I feel it adds so much to your life experience. It also helps in today's workplace, as we all have such diverse backgrounds; travel tends to broaden the mind, and can help us to understand each other better.

What's the best career lesson you've learned so far?

Take the job. You can do it. I was offered higher level positions in the past, but I thought I needed to wait, telling myself "Do what you're doing first and learn that really well; then you can put yourself forward for that type of role." We tend to underestimate our own capabilities.

If you can also identify a mentor in your career (whether internal or external), that's important, as they will help you to challenge yourself and see your strengths and weaknesses that are not always obvious to you.

How do you bring your whole self to work at 2K?

The team at 2K made this easy for me from the first moment I spoke with them. I remember during the interview process, I revealed to the hiring manager some vulnerable moments in my career due to work stresses, and he made me feel very comfortable about revealing a softer side of me. In the past I had felt that I couldn't always be myself; being a female who would raise their voice was seen as a negative personality trait. At the interview, I was applauded for this. 

So when I walked in the door at 2K, the shift from the old me who previously felt I had to hide both my vulnerabilities and my strengths was made easier by the built-in values at 2K where "Come As You Are" is encouraged. That doesn't mean we throw professionalism out of the window of course, and it's definitely not a green light to be your worst self. A good rule is to try to aim to bring your best self to work, and good things will follow from that. Of course we all have bad days and make mistakes, but the main thing is to learn from them and start each day fresh.

What career advice do you have for anyone who wants to break into the gaming industry? 

You don't need to have a previous career in gaming to work here. You don't need to even play video games. I've found that 2K welcomes all from different backgrounds, as they want to bring different perspectives to the business. You need to understand what the goal of the business is and how your role is an enabler to deliver video games. There's the classic anecdote from when JFK visited NASA and he asked the janitor, "What are you doing?" The janitor responded "Well, Mr. President, I'm helping put a man on the moon." You might not be the person producing the game, writing the story or building the world as an artist, but that doesn't mean you aren't critical to the company's success.

Judy Barbosa

Tell us about your role at 2K! What does a typical week look like? 

Being in a reactive organization, my week is filled with messages like "something is broken" or "I would like to change this process." It can be both rewarding and challenging, but what's key is the fact that everyone at 2K cares and strives to give the best of themselves each day as a means of properly representing the company.

How does 2K support and empower its employees? 

2K is more transparent about what's happening with the company financially, strategically, and demographically than many other companies of its size. As a global company there are challenges that can easily affect one site more than another at any given time. We're always made aware of what's happening, we're offered additional assistance, and we're allowed to discuss the economic landscape that's affecting many mentally, physically, or financially. The executives are always in communication, making sure to be as inclusive as possible. 

The events that are offered are well thought-out and take aspects of the larger group into consideration where feasible. I'm empowered to be myself, present myself, and grow myself, be it personally or professionally. Tools and resources are made readily available, and 2K fosters relationship building, mentoring, and networking both internally and externally. Should you have an opportunity to join the 2K family, it's important to know that you have a voice—but more importantly it is imperative that you find that voice and seek to grow your career, as you will have the support needed to "shine bright like a diamond!"

How have you grown professionally while working at 2K? 

Networking has always been one of my weak areas. I've been with 2K for just shy of two years, and I must say I've met and remained in communication with more people than I have at other companies. I'm convinced that the reason it's so easy here is because, again, everyone cares and everyone respects what 2K stands for. The gentle reminders that we are a family are everywhere, which makes wanting to network and build better relationships a natural part of our day-to-day communications. We're never too old to learn something, anything. We simply must foster positive vibes and allow our mind to continue to absorb new things. Then it's game on!

What hobbies do you enjoy to recharge away from work? 

Karaoke, and well as making digital creations like flyers, postcards, and websites.

What's the best career lesson you've learned so far? 

Respect and communication must exist in order to grow an effective, powerful organization.

How do you bring your whole self to work at 2K? 

I love working with people and introducing efficiencies, which feels easy as I'm part of such an awesome organization.

What career advice do you have for anyone who wants to break into the gaming industry? 

Research! Know and understand the roles, nuances, and career opportunities.

Tao Peng

Tell us about your role at 2K! What does a typical week look like? 

I'm part of the QA team on the PGA TOUR 2K23 project. My typical week is pulling the latest builds every morning, collaborating with teammates to test them, and entering/addressing bugs. Sometimes I also help developers to verify issues. I join weekly meetings as well.

How does 2K support and empower its employees?

I want to share one thing. We have been working at 2K since the pandemic, and while it feels like the pandemic is almost over, we still have the flexibility to have hybrid work time during the week. That's very sweet, especially for the employees who have kids or pets, like me.

How have you grown professionally while working at 2K? 

I was a QA tester as well in China. But working as QA in the gaming industry is a new start for me. I believe I've grown up very much since working at 2K. People at 2K are very nice and professional. They help me a lot. And I always try my best to learn new things and new skills. As an example, if there's a new feature that needs testing I will read the design documents first to ensure I understand how it works. But I know I still have more room to progress. I will work hard on it!

What hobbies do you enjoy to recharge away from work? 

I like baking. I enjoy the time when making cakes, cookies. That makes me relax. 

What's the best career lesson you've learned so far? 

When I first joined 2K, I didn't have confidence in my English-speaking abilities; this is my first job after moving from China to Canada. I was very stressed when presenting updates during meetings, so I talked to someone in HR, and she encouraged me, saying that no one is perfect and some advance prep can be a huge help for presenting. Now, when I want to say something during a meeting, I prepare for it by taking notes, which has been very helpful and helped me improve a lot.

How do you bring your whole self to work at 2K?

I think the basis of bringing my whole self to work is authenticity. I ask for help if I can't resolve something by myself. I ask questions if I don't understand something that was said. But to be honest, I'm still working on it, and hope to continue improving my confidence even when I'm afraid of making mistakes!

What career advice do you have for anyone who wants to break into the gaming industry? 

I have three specific pieces of advice:

• Play some games on any platform. Getting familiar with games can help you better understand your players (and it's a lot of fun!).
• Read some game-related articles to get a sense of how the wider industry is perceived.
• Talk to someone who is currently working or has worked in the gaming industry. Their insights and experiences can be incredibly helpful for navigating your own career path.

We are always interested in hearing more about our 2K employees. We are constantly striving to create safe spaces where everyone feels seen, welcomed, and appreciated. 2K puts the "Come As You Are" value into practice each and every day thanks to the courage and confidence of our employees, as we’re always looking to grow our community in the most inclusive ways possible. Employees who are interested in sharing their story can reach out to 2kemployeecomms@2k.com.