23 ESPORTS FOCUS Women in Esports
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Founded in 2015, AnyKey (anykey.org) is an advocacy group supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in competitive gaming. Co-sponsored by ESL and Intel, the organisation was formed under the leadership of Dr Morgan Romine, professor at University of California Irvine and former pro-gamer, and Dr T L Taylor, a sociology professor at MIT. AnyKey invites companies and individuals to take the GLHF (good luck, have fun) pledge, which includes promises to “be a good sport whether I win or lose”, “know that people online are real people and my words have real impact” and “respect others, even if their sincere opinions are different from my own”. Affiliate organisations include everything from the Dignitas women’s team and LBGTQ gamer groups to groups that promote gamers with disabilities. The organisation’s name is a reference to the phrase ‘press any key to continue’. The group’s website explains: “We chose that handle because we believe that anybody should be welcome in gaming.”
that are good enough to be scouted and join a team and become pro players. The problem is, those women are also really smart and see what happens when a woman becomes a pro player. They often decide, for their own happiness, they don’t want to put that pressure on themselves, even though they are good enough.” She adds: “I also notice that a lot of the women successful in esports don’t always love doing conversations about being a woman. Like Geguri (the South Korean pro Overwatch player, Kim Se-yeon) won’t do interviews about being a woman. That’s controversial sometimes for people who really want her to be a role model, but trying to be the best in the world at a game is enough for a lot of people. Most people never reach that point.” EVERYBODY CAN BE ANYBODY Charles Conroy has been in esports since the very beginning, as a pro player and team manager and, most recently, as the esports expert at broadcast tech provider The Switch. He sees esports as a great opportunity for diversity across
gender, racial and cultural lines. “One thing I personally love about esports is that it’s the ultimate equaliser. There are no physical limitations. Anyone can get up and kick ass, no matter your race or religion or gender,” says Conroy. “But I think that esports needs to be more welcoming to women. I think the community, in some ways, has been a bit juvenile. That’s changing a lot. But when I started in 2003, if you’re a girl and you’re playing in esports, you were singled out.” Still, Conroy is optimistic about how esports could be a force for inclusion in the future. “There are some great female champions out there. There are some great champions from all sorts of different races and backgrounds, different countries. I think it’s truly going to be the great equaliser. And I’m excited to see that continue to grow,” he says. Rob Black is COO of ESL UK. He admits the games that have become major esports already have a hyper-masculine tendency – an emphasis on intense direct conflict with victory achieved through violence. “Traditionally, the games that became esports were made to appeal to a male audience, so a lot of people getting involved in the industry early on were men. In the last few years, we’ve started to see a big shift and an influx of women being involved in consuming and playing esports. Inclusive games such as Overwatch and Fortnite are really helping to open up opportunities for women. “We’ve also seen female-only leagues and competitions set up in order to
I NOTICE THAT A LOT OF THE WOMEN SUCCESSFUL IN ESPORTS DON’T ALWAYS LOVE DOING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT BEING AWOMAN
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