It’s fair to say that the esports is male dominated. The number of women working in any role in esports or are playing any esports is estimated to be about 5% or in 1 or 20 that nearly one in four esports viewers are female (Nielsen). As of now the biggest debate in esports is whether male and female player should competitively play together or if there should be a separate championships held.
Steph Harvey or “Missharvey” is one of the most successful gamers in the world. In an interview with BBC technology news she said “ the number of women in esports is as low as 5% and the main reason is the stereotype attached to gamers. It’s still a ‘boy’s club’ so as a woman you’re automatically judged for being different. The way I get harassed is about what they would do to my body, about why I don’t deserve to be there because I use my sexuality – it’s all extremely graphic.”
As a matter of fact, this is the harsh reality of the industry, female players are looked down upon simply because of the fact that they are female.
However, there are a lot of games and other organisations that are aiming to encourage women to participate in this industry. Women in Games (WIGJ) seeks to use its experience in promoting gender diversity in video, online and mobile games to help encourage more diversity in Esports. DreamHack announced that they would be having an all-female Counter Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO) tournament with a prize pool of $100,000. In fact PUBG held an all women’s global tournament called Divina in 2018.
There have also been a many women who have recently taken the Esports world by storm. Xiaomeng “VKLiooon” Li made history as the first woman to win a Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals Esports tournament and a BlizzCon tournament, a landmark moment in Esports. “I want to say to all the girls out there that have a dream for Esports competition: If you want to do it and believe in yourself, you should just forget your gender and go for it,” Li, 23, said through a translator after the match. “As long as you want to play well you can, no matter what gender you are.”
Fortnite sensation, 13-year-old deaf female streamer Ewok became the first female to join Esports team Faze Clan.
The deficit of female gamers can be due the lack of safe gaming environment. One of the biggest problems faced by female gamers is the abuse they face. Sometimes this is bad enough to push certain gamers away from the sport itself. In terms of this having a women-centric championship seems like a good idea. As Prominent esports journalist Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau has had his say over Twitter, stating “Women’s esports tournaments aren’t replacing anything, they’ll lead to more women competing in esports, and women’s tournaments are overall a great thing for the industry.”
