In the world of competitive video gaming, or esports, only a small fraction of the millions won in competitions go to women.
A group of students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is hoping to change that. The Women of UH Esports, also known as the Women of UHE, was created to make sure marginalized genders have equal opportunities to play and potentially earn a future career in the gaming industry.
Madeline Gilbert is a player support coordinator for UHE. She said that she has seen these gender divisions firsthand in the world of esports, which surprised her even in this day and age.
"I know the community really well. And saying that, I also know how few women are involved in the community and how it's dominated by men, and UHE sports is actually one of the places that I think it's been an exception to this in some ways because there's actually a lot of women that have been involved with the program, even before I got there."
According to a 2021 article published by the BBC, there are no female esports players in the world’s top 300 earners. It explained how only a small fraction of the millions won in competitions around the world go to women.
Gilbert said other esports programs at UH are highly selective and consist of mostly men. However, UHE gives women an opportunity to get into gaming and bring them into the competitive scene.
"But I think overall, just supporting women in gaming and making it kind of normalized," she said.
This story aired on The Conversation on Jan. 29, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
