The Role of Gender and Diversity in Esports

The esports environment has always been dominated by male athletes, whether in terms of competitive scenarios or video game streaming. But is it okay to have gender dominance in eSports? Definitely not. Esports can only reach new heights and diversify its coverage when every gender contributes to the process of growth. It’s true that the scenarios are changing with more and more involvement of female streamers and eSports athletes, and eventually the popularity of female eSports athletes will grow exponentially. A report from 2019 shows that the eSports industry has only 5%  female athletes, and those numbers haven’t changed much since then.

There are several factors that might be hindering the growth of these numbers. The one major reason for this is the lack of participation and involvement of female athletes in eSports competitions. There is only a small percentage of females participating in any ESports tournament, maybe because of the lack of opportunities or because they don’t have any interest at all in video gaming competition.

Another reason can be toxicity and online bullying. Women are not used to the type of toxicity and harassment that is present in online gaming. These factors are pushing them away from involving themselves in eSports. Also, the female esports audience is nowhere when compared to the male esports audience. Audience support plays an important role in the performance and participation of any athlete in any sport, whether it’s physical or online. Spectators act as a motivating factor in any sport.

The diversification of gender in eSports is much needed in terms of revenue generation and having a balance of opportunities as well. Though there are a number of female streamers who are doing exceptionally well, such as Kaash Plays, Payal Gaming, Krutika Plays, Xyaa, etc. They have a huge fan following on YouTube and a decent number of views on their videos and livestreams. Recently, Team Rebel, a female-led team, won the BGMI launch party event, which is a big milestone for them. Such new achievements from female eSports athletes will eventually strengthen the diversity of the online gaming community.