Women in gaming face frequent online abuse and a lot harder glass ceiling | Digit

You could guess that eSports is a male-dominated space but you surely don’t know the extent of it. The glass ceiling is present in the new-gen eSports industry and female players may find it hard to break through. For instance, according to a recent Lumikai report, male players get 100 times bigger prizes than their female counterparts.

State of female esports players in India 

The number of women gamers is lagging behind men players by a 60:40 ratio. That is only 40% of players in India are women. Not only that, a more assuring finding is that women have been spending more time playing online and also contribute to 43 percent of the player base in the smartphone gaming space.

Jio’s disruption of the telecom industry, the resulting economical rates of phone plans, and the pandemic must have been a driving force behind this cultural shift. It is also reassuring to see the acceptance of gaming as a livelihood in general and that a lot of women are pursuing gaming as a serious career. 

Also Read: More Indian Women Are Choosing Gaming As A Serious Career Option

Another stat by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry states that female participants in competitive esports have soared to 22 percent in 2022 compared to 12 percent in 2020 (Ref: 2021 Women Mobile Gaming Report).

So, the number of pursuant seems to be ticking up. What’s concerning is the pay gap existing between them and their male counterparts. As per the Esports Federation of India, this difference is as big as 100 times.  

An even bigger issue is the rampant harassment that women face online. Local Circles in a 2023 report revealed about 86 percent of urban women gamers suffer online abuse in the form of sleazy comments, trolls, and cybercrimes.

Also Read: Women In Gaming Speak About Gaming In India, Their Challenges And Opportunities

The underrepresentation of women in leading positions in the gaming industry is also a matter of concern. 

The long and short of it is that the gaming industry needs to promote more diversity and inclusion. And we hope to find a crack in the aforesaid glass ceiling. We urge game publishers, tournament organizers and other stakeholders to develop a safe and empowering environment for female players. This could involve a working complaint and feedback system to record and report foul incidents. They should be able to keep their identity private to whatever extent possible. There should be a block option, if required. Family and friends should be there to hear out their problems and offer support and advice. Finally, women gamers reading this, we encourage you to seek professional help at times of emotional distress.