Last year, XR Inclusion (XRI), an organisation focused on supporting diversity and inclusion throughout the XR industry launched its first survey aimed at gathering data from professionals worldwide. The results led to some interesting insights as to the overall makeup of the industry as a whole. Now XRI has launched its 2021 survey, looking to improve upon the 2020 results by encouraging as many respondents as possible.
The XRI Survey 2021 aims to provide a yearly snapshot of the immersive industry with a focus on three core areas, Demographics, Work Culture & Structure, and Personal Sentiment. In turn, this should help highlight problems and imbalances that exist in the industry, helping studios and companies improve their standards for all employees. The current Activision Blizzard scandal is a perfect example of how large companies can fail in this endeavour.
To improve its data set, the XRI Survey needs as many respondents as possible, from as wider a demographic as possible. This will likely take several years to build up a substantial understanding of the XR ecosystem. As was demonstrated in the 2020 survey, over 50% came from the US and 62% were White, showcasing a need to draw more feedback from those outside of the US. The survey is free to fill out, anonymous and should take around five minutes to complete.
As a volunteer-led initiative, the XRI isn’t solely focused on producing the survey each year. While it will provide valuable insight into the industry, the organisation also offers a range of resources to help those interested in ensuring a diverse, inclusive environment. Your first port of call should be the XR Startup Kit – especially if your company is a new startup – which deals with topics such as hiring practices, a code of conduct template, unconscious bias training and more.
The XRI website also has a bunch of useful links under the Resources tab digging deeper into these key points, excellent when it comes to the correct use of language or running a fair meeting for example.
Survey’s such as XRI’s could prove to be even more critical as the industry grows and expands towards this metaverse future so many companies big and small are championing. Giving a better understanding of those who are developing this new frontier. When the results have been published, VRFocus will report back.
via Mint VR