24 ESPORTS FOCUS Women in Esports
IT’S GAMING MEN Despite efforts, most gaming leagues are made up entirely of men
Dreamhack’s stated goal for the event was “to elevate ambitious women CS:GO players in the global esports scene and provide a dedicated platform to support their professional growth. We aim to raise the visibility of the women currently in the space, provide equal access to competitive support as their male counterparts and offer a concrete way for women players to find guidance and inspiration to establish their path to pro”. Promoting women-only leagues and teams yields some great results. It shines the spotlight on women in the league, gives them a chance to grow their own fan bases and is likely to encourage other potential players. It will also give commercial interests the opportunity to see how popular women in esports can be – that there is some money to be made on it (see this year’s Women’s World Cup). But within that solution is also the problem of creating a ‘separate but equal’ league. By it’s very nature, it gives permission for other leagues – currently the bigger ones and the ones making the most money – to become all-male leagues. Showing that women are ‘as good as’ men at esports is not exactly the same as welcoming them into the sport as equal participants. Most of us still cling to the idea that greater digitisation leads to wider participation, greater freedom and more equality. The facts don’t really bear this out. Digital tools seem more often to result in the concentration of power and influence into fewer hands. Esports promises an even playing field where ‘anybody can be somebody’, but if the real world hasn’t solved its sexism problem, then we shouldn’t expect the digital world to be any different.
TRADITIONALLY, THE GAMES THAT BECAME ESPORTS WEREMADE TOAPPEAL TOAMALE AUDIENCE
SOLUTIONS FOR SHOOTERS One of the ways to bring women into esports is to create female leagues. This summer, esports organisation Dreamhack launched a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) showdown in Valencia, Spain, with a prize pool of $100k, open to female and non-binary players. Dreamhack partnered with Zowie, which established the Divina initiative – an initiative started to help women show off their gaming talent and promote
provide a platform for idols and role models to be discovered by other women interested in video games,” he adds. Black thinks time will work in women’s favour, with new female leagues slowly gaining traction, but he admits these still can’t compete with the general leagues, which, though nominally open to all, are essentially male leagues. “One of the great things about esports and gaming in general is that it doesn’t look at nationality, race, sexual orientation or gender,” Black says. “Our company motto at ESL is ‘where anybody can be somebody’. We embrace that, from our tournaments to our hiring. We want to create a world and company where no matter your background, you can come into esports and succeed.”
professional female esports players. Zowie’s Divina ran a women’s CS:GO championship in Shanghai, which served as the Asian LAN qualifier for the Dreamhack Showdown.
feedzinesocial feedmagazine.tv
Powered by FlippingBook