[UPDATED!] The Unsung (Female) Half of the D&D Team!

Now that Jennifer Clarke-Wilkes is no longer at WotC, the core D&D design team of eight people (Mike Mearls, Rodney Thompson, Jeremy Crawford, Greg Bilsland, Chris Perkins, Peter Lee, Matt Sernett, Adam Lee) is comprised solely of men. However, it's easy to overlook the other half of the team, which consists of those not so much in the limelight, and who are essential to the game's success - and who include a number of talented female staff. According to Mike Mearls, the following members of the D&D team are female.

This amounts to 9 hardworking, essential people. Mike lists them as follows:

• all of our data collection, polling, research - done by a woman
• our director of publishing, aka the person who decides what we make - a woman
• our marketing senior manager - a woman
• the four person team who created the look of 5e - women
• our licensing director - a woman
• our marketing art director - a woman

I don't know the names of all of them (I've listed the ones in the credits of the books below). I've dropped WotC's Jeremy Crawford a quick line, as he's been helpful with providing WotC staff names and positions before, and I'll update this if I hear back.

The books themselves mention Kate Irwin, Mari Kolkowsky, Melissa Rapier, Shauna Narciso (art directors), Liz Schuh, Shelly Mazzanoble, Hilary Ross, Laura Tommervik, Kim Lundstrom (brand and marketing), and Emi Tanji, Bree Heiss, and Trich Tochum (graphic designers), which is at least 12 women working on D&D!

UPDATE - Jeremy Crawford has responded with an awesome reply which lists many of the people involved with D&D:

We're putting the finishing touches on Princes of the Apocalypse, so I need to keep this short for now.

Many committed, talented people work on D&D products at Wizards of the Coast, both inside D&D R&D and outside it. The D&D team spans multiple departments, and it works on the roleplaying game, video games, licensed products, novels, and more. Regarding the RPG, which is my focus, the credits pages of the three core books show that many people had a hand in forming the new edition of the game.

EN World currently lists the following people being on the D&D team: Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Greg Bilsland, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, Matt Sernett, and Adam Lee.

That list should include Kate Irwin, Dan Gelon, and Shauna Narciso, the art directors who oversee the creation of all art for D&D. The list should also have Bree Heiss and Emi Tanji, who created the gorgeous interior designs of the core books and who worked tirelessly with me, Chris Perkins, and Kate Irwin to lay out those books. Most recently, Kate, Emi, Chris, and I have been collaborating to bring Princes of the Apocalypse to completion. The way we work, art affects text and vice versa.

The list is only complete with Richard Whitters, our amazing R&D concept artist and world builder, who works with Chris Perkins and Adam Lee in shaping the stories and worlds we plan to visit in the coming years. A fun fact: the fabulous condition sketches in the Player's Handbook are by Richard.

The list should name Chris Youngs, Ben Petrisor, Tom Olsen, and Chris Dupuis, members of D&D R&D who work with our video game partners; who work on board games, like the upcoming Temple of Elemental Evil; who review numerous licensed products, like the WizKids miniatures; and who are part of our internal testing of the RPG.

The list needs Nathan Stewart, Liz Schuh, Chris Lindsay, Shelly Mazzanoble, Hilary Ross, Laura Tommervik, Kim Lundstrom, and Trevor Kidd—all members of the D&D brand team. They collaborate with R&D on shaping product plans, creating future stories, gathering playtest data, working with freelancers and outside game studios, planning convention events, and dealing with innumerable other parts of the D&D business.

The list should mention Chris Tulach, who oversees the Adventurer's League and who has participated in many design meetings for the RPG over the years.

I could keep going and going. The core books wouldn't have made it out of the building without the D&D project managers—John Hay and Neil Shinkle—making sure all our departments were working in sync with each other. Our books would never see print without people like Jefferson Dunlap and Cynda Callaway working with our printers. Our gathering of playtest data and potential errata is always helped by Sam Simpson and the rest of our enthusiastic customer service team. We also get feedback and occasional loans of personnel from Magic R&D. For instance, James Wyatt did his final work on the Dungeon Master's Guide while on the Magic team.

And everything we do is in consultation with Bill Rose, the vice president of R&D, and with the rest of the company's executive team.

None of this begins to scratch the surface when it comes to our contractors. People like Michele Carter, Anita Williams, and Robert Schwalb aren't on our staff, but each of them played a key part in creating the fifth edition books. And currently, Dan Helmick is a full-time contractor working for us in-house.

Oh boy, I said was going to keep this short. It's easy for me to get enthusiastic when acknowledging the contributions of the diverse group of people who make D&D what it is today!

​

 

[jimmifett]

You're free to leave the conversation if you find it uncomfortable. Leave the moderation to the moderators.

I'm trying to get moderator attention to stop this from going any further down the dumpster of SJW gender discrimination theory based on genetic original sin.

But, let's go ahead and deconstruct the above strawman until moderators properly kill the thread.

Gender definitely does matter.

Male privilege is a thing. Even if it weren't, people of different genders (or without gender) would still have different experiences.

We can't even have a thread here talking about how WotC really actually does employ women without people being upset about it.

I will try to explain the difference (though in a simple way):

A white woman is asked what she sees when she looks in a mirror. She says 'a woman'.

A black woman is asked what she sees when she looks in a mirror. She says 'a black woman'.

A white man is asked what he sees. He says 'a person'.


Do you see the privilege? The white man doesn't have to worry about race and gender so he doesn't see or care about it. He only sees it when the women point out that it does actually matter.

This is obviously a poor example of "white privilege", which doesn't exist except to groups and individuals focused on division and advancing a victimhood society with a bogeyman to point to as the cause of all life's hardships to push their agendas, much like the mid 1930s (getting godwin's law out of the way early).

If you take a child, who hasn't been taught and indoctrinated by elements that embrace decisiveness by culture/ethnicity/sex/race/etc, and put them in front of a mirror and ask them what they see, they will say "Me".

It's when the adults ask them to describe the "Me" in the mirror that they might answer "a boy" or "a girl". It's not until one addresses skin color would a child say "a black boy/girl" and learn to separate themselves from a whole other group of "Me"s. They have to be taught that they aren't the same based on their skin color or sex. They have to be told by others that one race/sex/whatever can or can't do something better or worse than another group. They have to be taught to hate others who have "privilege" by birth, or to feel "guilty" about their birth, something completely beyond their control. They have to be taught that it is "just" to tear down the successful to make everyone "equal" in end experience rather than equal in opportunity. They have to be indoctrinated to be envious of success, wealth, tradition, and principles rather than taught to strive for such themselves, that they can achieve anything through hard work and seizing opportunity IF it presents itself.

This is what SJWs do. They reinforce the beliefs that others are marginalized or cheated simply by birth and that the only recourse is marginalization, censorship, and exclusion from culture and society of the properly agreed upon bogeyman of the moment, always looking for the next injustice to rail against, like an insane theocracy.

/end rant.

 

[Patrick McGill]

I'm trying to get moderator attention to stop this from going any further down the dumpster of SJW gender discrimination theory based on genetic original sin.

But, let's go ahead and deconstruct the above strawman until moderators properly kill the thread.



This is obviously a poor example of "white privilege", which doesn't exist except to groups and individuals focused on division and advancing a victimhood society with a bogeyman to point to as the cause of all life's hardships to push their agendas, much like the mid 1930s (getting godwin's law out of the way early).

If you take a child, who hasn't been taught and indoctrinated by elements that embrace decisiveness by culture/ethnicity/sex/race/etc, and put them in front of a mirror and ask them what they see, they will say "Me".

It's when the adults ask them to describe the "Me" in the mirror that they might answer "a boy" or "a girl". It's not until one addresses skin color would a child say "a black boy/girl" and learn to separate themselves from a whole other group of "Me"s. They have to be taught that they aren't the same based on their skin color or sex. They have to be told by others that one race/sex/whatever can or can't do something better or worse than another group. They have to be taught to hate others who have "privilege" by birth, or to feel "guilty" about their birth, something completely beyond their control. They have to be taught that it is "just" to tear down the successful to make everyone "equal" in end experience rather than equal in opportunity. They have to be indoctrinated to be envious of success, wealth, tradition, and principles rather than taught to strive for such themselves, that they can achieve anything through hard work and seizing opportunity IF it presents itself.

This is what SJWs do. They reinforce the beliefs that others are marginalized or cheated simply by birth and that the only recourse is marginalization, censorship, and exclusion from culture and society of the properly agreed upon bogeyman of the moment, always looking for the next injustice to rail against, like an insane theocracy.

/end rant.

Seeing as how you claim that transgender people are delusional (comparing them to people that think they're Napoleon, really?), you'll have to forgive me if I don't take the ethics lesson to heart.

This is a thread simply about how diversity is a good thing. Why does that make you so angry?

 

[Phaide]

Gender definitely does matter.

Male privilege is a thing. Even if it weren't, people of different genders (or without gender) would still have different experiences.

We can't even have a thread here talking about how WotC really actually does employ women without people being upset about it.

I will try to explain the difference (though in a simple way):

A white woman is asked what she sees when she looks in a mirror. She says 'a woman'.

A black woman is asked what she sees when she looks in a mirror. She says 'a black woman'.

A white man is asked what he sees. He says 'a person'.


Do you see the privilege? The white man doesn't have to worry about race and gender so he doesn't see or care about it. He only sees it when the women point out that it does actually matter.

Yep. I'm out. I'm tired of feeling bad about being white and male because of things I've never done or perpetuated. I've never met another white male gamer who was any different than I am on that point. I loathe this perspective of discrimination that keeps getting perpetuated. Not once have I or anyone I know told a woman who was interested in gaming with us to hit the bricks. Isn't it possible that due to its subject matter the hobby might actually appeal more to males in general? That doesn't mean it discriminates. Plumbers are mostly male. Graphic designers tend to be female by the numbers. Some hobbies and careers attract more of one gender than the other. Why is this perceived as something that needs to be "corrected"?

I don't care who writes or illustrates my books. Just be good. I want quality and equality but not if one sacrifices the other so we can all pat ourselves on the back and tell people how progressive we are.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I'm trying to get moderator attention to stop this from going any further down the dumpster of SJW gender discrimination theory based on genetic original sin.

But, let's go ahead and deconstruct the above strawman until moderators properly kill the thread.

Hey, everybody, it is always good to remember that if you don't want a thread to exist, you can always just not click on it or reply to it or be involved with it in any way and it will fade away with time. I'm happy to help out anyone who can't control this impulse on their own by threadbanning them, if they'd like! I can be very helpful!

Very.

Helpful.

 

[Patrick McGill]

Yep. I'm out. I'm tired of feeling bad about being white and male because of things I've never done or perpetuated. I've never met another white male gamer who was any different than I am on that point. I loathe this perspective of discrimination that keeps getting perpetuated. Not once have I or anyone I know told a woman who was interested in gaming with us to hit the bricks. Isn't it possible that due to its subject matter the hobby might actually appeal more to males in general? That doesn't mean it discriminates. Plumbers are mostly male. Graphic designers tend to be female by the numbers. Some hobbies and careers attract more of one gender than the other. Why is this perceived as something that needs to be "corrected"?

I don't care who writes or illustrates my books. Just be good. I want quality and equality but not if one sacrifices the other so we can all pat ourselves on the back and tell people how progressive we are.

Why is it that these topics always jump track from "certain groups of people are underrepresented" to "I shouldn't feel bad being white!"

That is complete nonsense. I'm a white guy and I don't feel bad in the least bit. Understanding privilege and what it means to certain people doesn't mean you need to feel bad about who you are. Just that you should be aware about other people's lot in life. It's not a personal attack, it's just a damn reality check.

I don't think anyone in this thread is saying white males are bad for being white males, geez. People are just celebrating diversity, because the reality is certain groups of people are underrepresented.

 

[Cam Banks]

I'm actually a Social Justice Hexblade.

I'm reposting here what I tweeted this morning after last night's back-and-forth on Twitter regarding this:

My position on this is as follows. First, I apologize for contributing to any marginalization of women who work hard to produce D&D books.
Second, I think that the visibility or lack thereof of women working on producing RPGs in general is a real problem & part of the culture.
Third, I believe RPG markets & their audience unfairly weight designers and writers over editors, directors, graphic designers, & managers.
Fourth, I believe we do need more women designing, creating, and writing games, and we should promote them & give them opportunity.
Lastly, it isn't my place nor anyone else's to rate, prioritize, rank, or otherwise place value on the contributions of women in their work.

If it matters to "anti-SJW" people, this is by and large the majority opinion among the game designers and professionals that I know of, and is certainly the opinion of most folks at WotC, Paizo, Onyx Path, and so on. I can only speak for myself that the constant use of social justice as a pejorative insult against those who are trying to create a more inclusive hobby is not a persuasive argument.

Carry on!

Cheers,
Cam

 

[jimmifett]

This is a thread simply about how diversity is a good thing. Why does that make you so angry?

Diversity doesn't make me angry, it's a good thing to have when it happens naturally. What is frustrating is the perception that if a group fails to represent selected given subgroups despite no active exclusionary efforts, that group is somehow wrong/bad and should be forced to include representation of a subgroup regardless of qualifications or needs of the group, aka, artificial diversity.

 

[ad_hoc]

Yep. I'm out. I'm tired of feeling bad about being white and male because of things I've never done or perpetuated. I've never met another white male gamer who was any different than I am on that point. I loathe this perspective of discrimination that keeps getting perpetuated.

Not saying that at all. I am sorry that you took it that way. Just replying to a comment that said that gender does not matter. Feeling that gender does not matter is a privilege.

Not once have I or anyone I know told a woman who was interested in gaming with us to hit the bricks. Isn't it possible that due to its subject matter the hobby might actually appeal more to males in general? That doesn't mean it discriminates. Plumbers are mostly male. Graphic designers tend to be female by the numbers. Some hobbies and careers attract more of one gender than the other. Why is this perceived as something that needs to be "corrected"?

This, in a game whose 1st edition penalized female characters.

I don't care who writes or illustrates my books. Just be good. I want quality and equality but not if one sacrifices the other so we can all pat ourselves on the back and tell people how progressive we are.

In the case of D&D it's not about "correcting" anything. I just want to tell stories that include non-men and their perspectives (as well as men of course).

That's all I care about as far as this topic and D&D coincide.

 

[technoextreme]

That's just it. They did. Open your books and look at who was involved. Don't do whatever this person did that Morrus was talking about and assume that no women are on the "D&D Team". Those 8 people actually are a pretty small part of who was on the "D&D Team".

Except they said designers which means they are absolutely correct. There are no women designers listed in the credits and if Mearls wants to argue otherwise he's going to open up a whole another can of worms that he's all ready been slammed for from other people in the industry.

 

[Nergal Pendragon]

If it matters to "anti-SJW" people, this is by and large the majority opinion among the game designers and professionals that I know of, and is certainly the opinion of most folks at WotC, Paizo, Onyx Path, and so on. I can only speak for myself that the constant use of social justice as a pejorative insult against those who are trying to create a more inclusive hobby is not a persuasive argument.

On this, we both agree. Plus, as I've stated, having a more inclusive hobby is simple practicality and good for the game. And that's speaking as someone who is one of the anti-SJWs. So, overall, I don't think there is an inherent disagreement between the sides on this one.