Women in Esport: Exploring the overt and subtle barriers of women in Esports

Details

Supervisors

Jammaers, Eline

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Since the creation of Esport, there are very few women in Esport competitions and in the video game industry. In 2021 in France, the number of women participating in amateur Esport competitions is only 7% against 93% of men (Le Baromètre Esport France, 2021). There is a strong inequality in the field. This thesis aims to identify the different barriers that women face in the Esport industry to help us understand why they are so underrepresented. A qualitative study was conducted with professional or occasional players and stakeholders of both genders. Two types of barriers were determined: overt barriers that keep women out of the professional scene to more subtle ways that make women feel uncommon or even unwelcome. These two types of barriers are then paralleled by contextual barriers and individual barriers. Finally, research on different recommendations is conducted to try to overcome these barriers and obstacles.