If esports wants to grow, it must create opportunities to bring in more voices and competitors.
Esports needs more voices, more perspectives, and more competitors to truly grow and prosper. Which is why it’s important to have all-women competitions…it’s necessary and important.
I don’t say that to separate women from men. That’s not the case at all. If anything having the extension will only cultivate more talent, which will contribute to overall competition, and further the journey of inclusion and diversity within esports.
Look at it through this lens: Esports is a heavily male-dominated industry and one filled with varying personalities. This can be intimidating for some who may not know where to go, where to start and how to go about developing in this scene. And some aspects of this scene is riddled with toxicity, sexism, racism and more.
[READ] One of our own documented her experience alongside @youFamousEnough at the NBA 2K League Development Camp for Women in Gaming
?: https://t.co/IvHfLjfJDA pic.twitter.com/ogCS8pBFYf
— HEAT Check Gaming (@HeatCheckGaming) August 28, 2019
And one of the best ways to create comfortable environments for all is to establish these entry-points. And not just for women, even for those a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Recent examples of these opportunities range across varying competitive scenes.
Jessica Bolden recently announced the launch of her all-women Rainbow Six League to serve as a platform for women, non-binary and trans women, to not only compete against each other but to use this platform as preparation for additional competition.
The NBA 2K League established its first-ever development camp for elite female NBA 2k Players for the purpose of developing talent who may make it into the league. Since Chiquita Evans became the first pro woman player, the league has doubled down on its diversity and inclusion efforts.
.@JessGOAT talks about the launch of her all-women Rainbow Six league, #CCSR6W. pic.twitter.com/pN5P6koKjv
— Cheddar Esports (@CheddarEsports) August 30, 2019
And we cannot forget Bumble and Gen. G’s All-Women’s “Team Bumble” Fortnite team. So, the creation of all-women opportunities is already in motion and in no shape or form is it an anti-men statement or for the purpose of separation.
If anything, it brings better competition together, which is what we all want. If esports wants to grow, it needs to create doors that allow more competitors to grow, develop and enter the scene. Because when one person wins, we all win.
To learn more about esports and gaming culture check out the rest of our Stick Talk series.
