Building a sustainable culture for women in the game industry.
With brief interview on Anjola and Princess Hibana (Pro Gamers)
Introduction:
The gaming industry has come a long way since the early days of arcade and console games. Today, the industry has exploded into a multi-billion dollar industry, with millions playing games daily worldwide. The traditional game has moved from mobile, pc, and console games, respectively, with more creators creating diverse games for different individuals and purposes.
But one misconception is that many people need to be more explicit about the game with the gaming, which is two different spaces within the umbrella.
“Game” refers to a form of play or sport, often competitive, that has rules and is engaged in for enjoyment. “Gaming” refers to playing games, especially video games, either as a leisure activity or professionally.
In summary, the game industry is focused solely on developing games for different purposes. In contrast, the gaming industry refers to the industry that focuses more on playing games, such as esports.
Today, gamers don’t just play games for fun but also for different purposes such as entertainment, competition, challenges, socialization, relaxation, escapism, learning, accomplishment, etc. The game industry has also transcended from the regular 2D into Virtual and Augmented reality, which is a different gaming level.
The truth about the game industry is there are different biases and misconceptions, and one of them is that there is a big issue of gender bias in the game industry, which makes it difficult for female gamers to cope in the space.
According to Statistica.com, in 2022, women accounted for 48 percent of gamers in the United States, up from 45 percent of US gamers identifying as women during the previous year. But there are many doubts about the number because women must be better represented. This results from the problems women face in the space, such as harassment, sexualization, gender imbalance, stereotyping, underrepresentation, and lack of mentorship and support. This has created a destructive culture of women in the game space and a need for more creativity and ideas from women.
That is the culture in today’s world in the game space. The question is, how do we build a sustainable culture for women?
Game Industry and Sustainability:
Sustainability is often used to describe the natural world’s and human society’s capacity to coexist in a way that preserves resources and ecosystems for future generations.
In this context, how we can create a sustainable culture for women in the game space can be broken down into the following:
Harassment and discrimination: Companies should have clear policies to address harassment and discrimination and ensure that all employees are trained on these policies. They should also have precise mechanisms for reporting and addressing incidents of harassment and discrimination.
Diversity and representation: Companies should make a concerted effort to hire and promote women and other underrepresented groups in the game industry. This can be done through targeted recruitment efforts and by promoting diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace.
Promote women in leadership positions in the game space: Companies should actively support the advancement of women into leadership positions and ensure that they have the resources and support they need to succeed. This includes offering mentorship and sponsorship programs and training and development opportunities.
Online community: Companies should take steps to promote a positive and inclusive online gaming community and address issues of harassment and abuse. This includes implementing community guidelines and enforcement mechanisms and providing resources and support for victims of online harassment.
Represent women in games: Individuals should strive to represent women positively and diversely, avoiding stereotypical and objectifying portrayals. This requires a commitment to diversity and inclusiveness in the creative process and a willingness to listen to and incorporate feedback from players.
The Interview:
To fully understand the women’s space, I decided to discuss with two outstanding gamers their experience in the gaming space.
Here is the interview with Anjoja and Bittercola (as referred to by their game names).
Interview with BitterCOLA
Can you tell us your name and your background?
My name is ANJOLA , Popularly known as BitterCOLA
I’m From Epe , Lagos state, and I live in Lagos. I school in Lagos too. 🙃
How did you start gaming?
I was always passionate about gaming but never played games until early 2021.
I found interest in call of duty after I posted a bot gameplay I recorded. I found out people found it amusing because I was like among the first few gamer girls we had in the CODM community then, so I saw the urge to continue, and it’s been 2years plus in the game now 🙂
What made you go Into Gaming?
My main reason for going into gaming was for the fun of it (I never planned to be a professional gamer )
The fun of it Made me go into it
What are the challenges you are facing as a lady who games?
Discrimination- people naturally believe that a girl can’t be so good at the game, so I always have people insult me and stuff even before the game starts
Secondly, Everything gets sexualized when you are a gamer girl, And it’s almost impossible to avoid Body-shaming.
Also, when I play well,l and people try to comment on me, there are always these anti-Gamer girl people 😂; these would attack anyone that comments on a gamer girl by calling them simp and making them believe gamer girls don’t worth it.
What has been the most challenging moment so far?
The most difficult moment I have had was when I got banned from Tiktok the first time ( I have been banned twice).
The first time was so hurtful, I was at 14k followers as of that time, and I thought I had lost it all until I somehow worked my new acct to 27k and got banned again. Lol 😂
But the first banned wasn’t easy to take in
What are your take on the game industry and its take on women gamers or game developers?
My take on the gaming industry focuses more on the Nigerian gaming community
These Are the most toxic gaming community to be in, and for you to be a girl in this community, you are strong physically and mentally.
So generally, most gamer girls come to the community for fun but end up leaving with depression. It’s a Crazy community we thrive in.
How is the female gender represented in games?
The Female gender in the game is respected, but sometimes it’s better not to reveal your gender in the game
What is your take on sexism?
The sexism part is a huge problem we have; as I said above, our looks and physical features are judging us, and if we don’t meet the requirements of how they expected a gamer girl to look, then we get pounced on with insults from everywhere,
If you look good, you get a bunch of Guys looking for a one-night stand; this is a big problem we face.
Interview with Blackweebchick:
Can you tell us your name and your background?
My name’s Hamidah Suleiman. I’m from Kogi state, and I’m Igala. I reside in Abuja, Nigeria.
How did you start gaming?
When I was younger, my youngest uncle and I always played games together, and fast forward about three to four years ago; I started playing mobile fps games, starting with Free fire.
What made you go Into Gaming?
The realization that there was a virtual world I could use as an escape from reality and all my real problems was an enormous burden off my shoulders for as long as I was playing it with my closest friends
What are the challenges you are facing as a lady who games?
Well, the one thing that was a challenge for me would gender discrimination at first when I started. Still, over the year,s I have noticed an improvement and seen that people are more accepting of women in the gaming community in Africa.
What has been the most difficult moment so far?
I’ll have to say grooming my “craft” and way of creating gaming content to this point and creating a very tiny fan base/following for myself to this point.. hasn’t been easy, but I can and will manage to thrive.
What are your take on the game industry and its take on women gamers or women game developers?
I most certainly believe that we, the female gamers, are going somewhere with being accepted as equals on the fps battlefield, especially because women are being demeaned every day for “being on the game.” I’ve even heard some make snarky comments like “go back to the kitchen” or “if I lose to this woman, I’m quitting gaming forever,” which is amusing to me because if I have the capability of playing against you and winning, it should mean something to you. It should show you that I can very much be equal to you, if not better than you, at the game, and accepting it is what matters.
How is the female gender represented in games?
In some atmospheres, women are sexualized, but only when they try to get themselves sexualized. But where my problem lies is when they stereotype and choose to sexualize all women who are in the game with them. It could be demeaning to us
What is your take on sexism in the gaming industry?
I believe the gaming community can do better in prioritizing women as much as they prioritize men.
Summary:
In all, creating a sustainable culture of women in games would take a little time, but it can be practiced in different regions; we have seen considerable growth in countries like the US, where women have a total of 48% representation in the US game ecosystem. A similar approach can also be made in different parts of the world. The game space is for everyone, and everyone needs to be carried along. I believe in zero gender bias in the creative space of games/gaming, and we support digital equality in every industry.
Happy International Women’s Day to all gamers, game developers, and creatives in the game.