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Xbox is continuing to make strides toward a more inclusive gaming community. Research reveals that people who identify as white make up 68 percent of the video game industry. Yet, there’s still 13 percent of that community that is made up of Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Pacific Islander, Indigenous people, and LGBTQ+ communities and Xbox wants to ensure that their content reflects all gamers. In honor of Pride Month, the gaming system is amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices within the industry by championing those who are committed to inclusion and breaking down barriers so that everyone can experience the joys of gaming. One of those voices happens to be Melissa Boone. Boone is a part of the team of behavioral scientists providing user feedback and insights to Xbox’s game development teams. Her role as a research manager on the Xbox Research & Design team allows her and the team to center the user experience around everything that the company develops. For Boone, representation is key in her...
Women’s accomplishments in STEM get overlooked far too often, and for Black women, this fact reigns even more true. It’s not enough to just know these women’s names, sometimes it’s better if we can physically see the women behind our groundbreaking innovations. Lyda Hill Philanthropies® — a nonprofit organization that funds transformational advances in science and nature — and its IF/THEN® Initiative recognized that not only were women not being properly highlighted in STEM, there was also a lack of physical representation that honored them and their work. To resolve this issue, the initiative created the #IfThenSheCan exhibit, which acts as a first-of-its-kind monument for the most life-sized women statues ever assembled in one location at once. The idea behind the exhibit was fueled by IF/THEN®’s discovery that there were less than half a dozen women statues in all the major U.S. cities. Made up of over 120 ambassadors for IF/THEN®, the historic exhibit has set out to activate a...
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited red blood cell disorder in which there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen through your body. A person inflicted with the disease has red blood cells that are shaped like sickles, instead of the round shape that healthy cells have. Treatment options are different for anyone living with sickle cell, and for many patients, there is no viable cure. African Americans are at a relatively high risk of having the disease, with 1 in 13 babies being born with sickle cell. We sat down with a streamer named Ryan who is using his passion for gaming to help raise money to advocate for people affected by sickle cell conditions! Streamer Beginnings Two Average Gamers: How’d you get into streaming? Ryan: I was introduced to it by a friend. After watching her stream, it looked really cool and she recommended that I try it out. I started out really simple with the Twitch app on my Xbox One and have continued to improve my setup since then. TAG: Why...