¿Existe la brecha de género en el mercado de los deportes electrónicos?

The challenges assumed by the electronic sports industry sometimes share more elements in common with the rest of the markets than we think. According to AEVI, in Spain there is a total audience of 5.5 million users (2.6M of fans plus 2.9M occasional viewers) linked to esports, of which women represent only 29% of the 2, 9 million total fans.

Graphic property of Nielsen

, Although the industry is in a double-digit growth phase , the gap That exists Between men and women fans and fans of esports It is still very present, and not only at the Spanish level, the figures That Nielsen shows in Its Report on the study of users at global level leaves very clear traces of the situation of the sector.

According to the report, the global percentage of fans would reach 22% among the female audience compared to overwhelming 78% of male audience. And although some countries already exceed the global average in the case of Korea (32%) and China (30%), or the case of France (23%) and UK (25%); Many others have a long way to go to this gap in the esports industry: USA. (17%), Japan (18%) or Germany (20%).

These data also does not only concern the user. The professional sector in Spain would be composed of 83.5% men compared to a discreet 16.5% of the female audience. It is clear that the industry must take initiatives to try to end the gender gap. Initiatives such as the creation of fully integrated teams of female members show the need for the presence of women in the sector. Projects such as Ubisoft with the creation of its competitive Frag Dolls team in 2004, the creation of a female CS: GO team by Giants or the Spanish team of Zombie Unicorns make this need clear.

It is clear that machismo prevails among electronic sports. And we do not say it. The survey conducted by ESPN in 2017 indicated that 27% of the respondents felt uncomfortable, nervous or deconcentrated if they had a female presence among the ranks of their teams. Let's be honest, this data does not show any kind of leisure trend between men and women, but a clear cultural attitude of rejection before the participation of the female audience in esports.

Insults, threats or bullying are some of the consequences that women have to face in the world of video games, and this was confirmed by our participants in the round table held with girls gamers . Campaigns such as #MyGameMyName, in which teams from the national competitive scene such as Movistar Riders have taken part, try to show this reality with a clear message of denunciation: ending machismo in the electronic sports sector.

We are facing a sector that is still in a state of professionalization. Building foundations based on respect, equality and tolerance must be mandatory milestones to form an ecosystem and a strong and consolidated industry.