Esports helps women to prepare for roles in the workplace

Further success for British women can only be achieved if esports teams and companies in the UK recognise female talent and support them in the same way they do their male counterparts. Universities can play a part here, by holding community events for minority groups such as women and players from ethnic backgrounds.

I’m planning an event that will celebrate women in esports and gaming. Drawing on firsthand experiences from industry experts, local voices and encouraging new players to join in and give them a safe space to play.

I actively play with females in the student esports community at Durham and it’s encouraging to see high rankings in the esports club. Our female valorant teams are participating in university esports leagues, and we hope to support them further by organising a dedicated evening to play.

As a moderator and tournament administrator for the Women in Esports Association, I support the equality and diversity initiatives at Durham. I’m encouraging more players to get involved in the community via their club Discord.

Learning soft skills

Esports can help individuals develop many soft skills. Firstly, taking part requires a high level of collaboration and communication, which are important skills for any career.

Secondly, student gamers must learn self-organisation and prioritisation in terms of balancing esports with their university studies. The national sports leagues (NSE and NUEL) hold weekly matches, so time for practice and matches can be planned in advance.

It is easy to get addicted to gaming, so having the discipline to decide what should take priority is important if players are to get the best out of their gaming and studies.

Behind the scenes

Behind every esports team or event are a number of people dedicated to management and day-to-day running. There is a wide variety of roles, including running events and associated social gatherings, monitoring health and wellbeing, managing merchandise, operating streaming equipment and assisting players.

Students are encouraged to get involved in these supporting roles and events. Such activities demonstrate initiative and teamwork, which bolsters the student’s self-confidence and looks good on CV’s, and contributes to work and life experience, helping prepare students for roles in the workplace.

Opportunities for female students

While robust statistics on participation at grassroots level are hard to come by, anecdotally there is a trend towards more female players getting involved in the scene at university.

There are two esports leagues run nationally for university students that span multiple games. Recently the NUEL has created a Women Valorant tournament that allows these players to compete in a safe and welcoming environment.

It is great to see national companies encouraging female players to get involved and support them on their esports journey. Some play for fun, but others look at competing in higher tier events, such as the VCT Game Changers, a worldwide Valorant tournament only for women.

Pros and cons of success

With the rise of esports, the players have been elevated to celebrity status. Some have their own sponsorship deals from major brands like BMW, Red Bull, and Intel – so, for very successful players, avoiding the spotlight is often impossible.

Players must be careful to protect their image and behave appropriately at all times. A pro player's career is constantly in the spotlight.

Becoming a celebrity in any sphere is a double-edged sword, and I think that esports players are slightly more vulnerable and under pressure than physical sports people, as they need to play on public servers to practice. Esports players are very accessible to their fans and seem to be great at interacting with them, which is a massive plus point in terms of encouraging community growth and support for their teams.

Team managers do their best to protect their players by monitoring social events and setting streams to a delay, but this does not prevent some from being stream sniped, the act of using someone's live stream against them, or from doxing, to search for and publish private or identifying information about a particular individual on the internet, typically with malicious intent.

A lot of data is clearly visible, such as in-game player names which, with a bit of detective work, can easily be traced back to the source. Many play under pseudonyms to avoid attracting attention while playing.

Encouraging participation

We are continuously trying to encourage female students who might be nervous or reluctant. With the help of the Women in Esports Association, we intend to hold several events that aim to draw out players competing on a level playing field, irrespective of gender, and give them their own space to encourage them to play without recourse.