Searching for the Golden Thread: Game-Based Learning for Awareness of Gender Equity

This study examines The Golden Thread, a hybrid tabletop and app-based educational game designed to raise awareness of gender inequity in career progression, particularly the barriers women face in reaching senior positions. The game adapts the movement structure of Snakes and Ladders to a workplace setting, where teams play personas and progression depends on decisions and access to informal networks. Male personas receive information that directs them onto a faster "golden thread" route, while female personas encounter different barriers despite similar choices. The research is framed by Kolb's experiential learning theory, which informed both the game's design and its evaluation.

The evaluation drew on two pilot sessions with a total of 19 master's-level engineering students enrolled in a project management course at a Swedish university, supported by interviews with the course teacher and observational notes. Data were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis, producing five themes: reflection and awareness, active participation, pedagogical relevance, active learning environment, and prototype refinement. Findings indicate that the game generated high energy and substantive discussion, including perceptions of unfair treatment by gender and age. The Active Learning Classroom setting supported both the hybrid format and team discussion, and the teacher adapted insights from the session into an exam question.

The authors are explicit about the study's limitations. The sample was small, drawn from a single course, and participation was voluntary, while the game remained in prototype form. The authors' multiple roles as teacher, facilitator, and designer also introduce potential subjectivity. Identified improvements include clearer rules, more transparent mechanics, richer personas that account for factors such as socioeconomic background, and reversing the sequence so gameplay precedes the lecture. Future work is planned across other universities and countries, including Scandinavia and the UK, to test how the game performs across different workplace cultures.