Women in Esports
By Holly Mankelow
With the introduction of new technologies at a rapid pace in the 21st century, we have seen the development of new careers, industries and livelihoods that people rely on in new and exciting ways. One of those industries is the esports industry. Esports refers to the competitive aspect of online gaming in video games such as Valorant, League of Legends, Rocket League and Fortnite. With over four million people tuning in to watch the League of Legends final streamed from Iceland at the end of 2021, the industry is growing exponentially and a world of opportunities is opening up for people all over the world.
At a first glance, work in the esports industry seems minimal. The part that the many see is simply people playing video games and winning tournaments but the world of esports goes much deeper than that. In order to support these players, a whole team works behind the scenes to keep them playing. Game analysts watch their players and their opponents to work out the best strategies to win, dieticians and health experts help players stay fit for their game days (especially when combatting jet lag at competitions in other countries), coaches train their players and get their game to their best. Then, you have casters and hosts to connect the audience to the games they’re watching, social media managers and marketers to advertise events and matches, and admins and referees to keep the playing fair. Think of all the people who work behind the scenes to run the Premier League. If that role exists in the mainstream sport industry, it also exists in esports.
One problem that esports has faced in its time has been one of gender. Gaming is, historically, a predominantly male hobby, and as a result, the professional world is weighted in their favour. This can make the world of esports a really scary place for women to try and get involved, but that doesn’t stop them in the slightest. At a university level, women are getting involved all over the country, with one such woman being Caity ‘Kat’ Emery, the newly appointed president of Warwick Esports, which holds the title of Esports University of the Year for three years running, and the first female president of the society! She is also one of the 20 students invited to be a part of the Intel Futuregen Cohort 2022: a programme that allows university students to nurture connections within the gaming industry and widen their network. I had the opportunity to talk to Kat, and ask her about the industry, its growth, and her place in it.
“The gender split of gamers overall is almost 50/50, so why is esports so male dominated? The answer is pretty simple: the competitive aspect of esports has led to more hostility and toxicity than other, more cooperative or casual games.” Kat explained.
Josh ‘Phosphorescent’ Mankelow (21/22 President) and Caity ‘Kat’ Emery (22/23 President) at the opening of Warwick Esports Centre
“With this toxicity comes a lot of sexism, which has led to many women feeling as though they aren’t safe or able to go into the industry. It’s not that there’s less women, or women aren’t interested - it’s that for one reason or another, they don’t feel it’s something they can do (and they’re wrong, by the way).”
This toxicity is indeed felt throughout the gaming sphere, as Kat went on to state “ I was just elected as President of my university’s esports society. I should have felt happy when I heard the news, but the elections process was so brutal mentally that I just felt relieved it was over.” With her competition consisting entirely of men, she said that, “Having no other women around you in these positions of power makes you feel very lonely and self conscious. I worried people wouldn’t vote for me because I’m a woman, and had many, many people tell me that I wasn’t fit for President because I ‘wasn’t the right sort of person’. When I confronted them about why I wasn’t, none of them could give an answer.”
Although there is negativity in the space, Kat continued to reassure me that it certainly isn’t all bad:
“The best part about being in the esports community is the people you meet and the ideas that you share. The esports industry is fairly new, meaning a lot of the professionals in the industry are young, progressive and inspired. Some of the most eye opening conversations I’ve had have been with esports professionals. It’s a community where everyone is learning and growing at the same time, so there’s so much exchanging of ideas and supporting of one another.”
One of the incredible things that Kat has worked on in the past year was the creation of a safe space for female and non-binary persons in the esports community which was created in the form of ‘The Pack’. When I asked about its creation, she answered “I created the pack because I felt lonely and wished I had more women gamer friends! I figured that if I feel that way, others probably do too, so I created The Pack! It’s a community exclusively for women & non binary gamers, which I think is really important. Creating these safe spaces for people that have historically been harassed/verbally abused in the gaming scene allows for them to feel as though they have a place and that they’re allowed to enjoy video games!!” Testimonies from other members of The Pack go on to highlight its place in the community, saying that the safe space gave people chance to come to terms with their identity, feel at home within the society and allowed people to find like-minded women and non-binary people who just wanted to enjoy gaming.
'The Pack' Logo
As an industry that’s perhaps not wholly understood at levels below University, I couldn’t finish the interview without asking Kat about any advice she had for people, regardless of gender, what steps they can take in getting into esports as a possible future career path, or even just as a fun hobby: “Get involved where you can!! Look into your favourite game, watch the pro team esports going on and just learn! The best thing you can do whilst still at school is just try things - try different games, watch some streams. Whatever it is, just getting involved is the best thing you can do.”
“Also, especially for the people that are planning on going to university - check the entry requirements. I know there’s an Esports BTEC that many people choose to do instead of A Levels but just be careful about that - we have students that want to come to Warwick (we’re Esports University of the Year) and unfortunately a lot of Russell Group universities don’t accept anything other than A Levels yet (for most courses). So just be aware, do your research but most importantly have fun!!”
If you are interested in esports, and the possibility of playing games like Rocket League or Fortnite competitively, Mr Simmons runs a year 7 club at lunchtime on Tuesday, and a year 12 club Wednesdays after school: his email is open to all those interested (c.simmons@uckfield.college). Who knows, maybe we have the next esports superstar somewhere in our school!
Kat was incredibly generous in her answers to my questions and I just didn’t have the room to fit it all in the article, so if you are interested, her full, unedited answers can be found below!
