As women representing a mosaic of cultural diversity in the esports and the traditional sport industry, both Jessica Medeiros & Suzanne Duncan are no strangers to the heavy lifts asked of female leadership at executive tables in the gaming space.
As the founders of Femme Gaming, we are both passionate gamers and accomplished businesswomen. These two things shouldn’t be mutually exclusive but at times in the present esport ecosystem, it certainly feels like they are. Being afforded the appropriate respect, credibility, and compensation is a constant challenge. Regardless, we are in it to win it.
As empirical thought leaders and entrepreneurs in this space, we understand that the construct of this industry, regardless of how “innovative” it purports to be, is designed by the same architects and lenses that constructed most of our institutions – men. Going even further (in the western hemisphere) – Caucasian men. Encompassed in the one-billion-dollar-plus industry of esports and the 100-billion-dollar-plus gaming industry, are 46 percent of all gamers – females. Taking those figures into account from a business lens alone, it can be assumed that women represent a large percentage of those consumer dollars, so what gives?
Looking at it even further, the respective global fan base of female gamers is less than one quarter of that, differing from country to country. A few obvious aesthetic factors aside that could count out some of the female fan base, lies the biggest, most obvious one: Esports and the gaming ecosystem don’t value and know how to talk to the female gamer.
Why doesn’t our economic contribution add up enough to support an “inclusive” image of players on the screens, or in all the greatest esport publications, or even as a shadow image on the box of the latest Monopoly Game of Esports? Which, by the way, was heralded as the example that Esports was finally being recognized as “mainstream.” Let’s not even go into the multitude of female-absent stock photos or industry content in the esports ecosystem. Well, we hardly see this “mainstream” as cause for celebration because once again, we are literally being left out of the picture.
French for the word “Woman,” Femme Gaming is a team of like-minded, multi-culturally diverse, talented women who love video gaming and are working hard to champion the skills of women in esports and gaming. We live the experience of underrepresentation and often mistreatment of women in this industry, in business, and within the games themselves.
With an idea to drive strategic change, we started Femme Gaming as a safe space specifically tailored for women, by women, to make meaningful connections and showcase their skills as gamers. We are more than a brand; we are a global community fulfilling a promise of amplifying the recognition and prowess of women in the esports industry worldwide. Shouldn’t be as rad as it sounds, but Femme Gaming thrives in the disruption of the complex matrix of the esport ecosystem and games development that continues to tout itself as the cutting edge, authentic, unstoppable sport take-over of the future.
The irony that men continue to purchase the skins of diverse, bad-ass female characters to slay and win, while we women turn our mics off to try and win… tells the whole story.
Organizations are quick to share they are “working on it.” But their own internal snapshot tells a different story. How does a “culture shift” if everyone in your organization looks like you? How can you share with any authenticity the conviction to change if your own organization doesn’t represent that at face value? Females are not going to believe you, and many of us will stop making an economic investment in the game unless this is corrected.
The world of esports is failing to live up to the mantra of the one “real level playing field” in sports in multiple ways, much less the way brands engage in this space. We are putting it on “blast” with the #FemmeEffect, the push for mixed-gender teams as a standard, and encouraging tournament owners and game developers to close the gap.
We are showcasing organizations that are partnering with us to make it their business imperative to be the change and invite women fully into this space. We aren’t going anywhere, you’re on notice. #TheFutureIsFemme
