Women in esports disciplines in general, get almost no support, they are forced to hide their gender and do their best to ignore gender-based insults and harassment. According to the EX CORP. research, these and a number of other obstacles blur career opportunities for women in esports, making the gaming field not as equal as it seems.
“Women make only 3% of the total number of players to ever earn prize money in CS:GO, one of the most popular esports titles in history. Completely cut-off from chances to win prize money, and having to develop their skills in spite of various obstacles, women lack time to develop gaming skills, and feel demotivated”, says the research.
Most of the time, the gaming community itself is not supportive of women, who are primarily judged by their looks and their gender, and only after that their actual skill is taken into consideration.
As a result, women online prefer to hide their gender and avoid communicating with other members of the community, which hinders their development as players on all levels of skill.
The research also touches upon the problem of toxicity, which is a general problem plaguing the space rather than something only women have to deal with, even though it’s women who face toxicity the most often.
EX CORP. experts believe that the market as a whole would benefit from unrestricted access of women to the gaming and esports space. Leading by example, one of EX CORP.’s assets, esports outlet BLIX.GG, take it upon itself to provide coverage for women’s tournaments the same way as other events, and create and promote content on the female scene, including but not limited to features on women players, women in management and special women-centered events.
