Most women hide their gender when playing online


A study reveals that 59% of women have hidden their gender when playing online to avoid sexist discrimination, something that three out of four women have suffered. 

A study once again reveals the discrimination and harassment suffered by online players just because they are women. The firm Reach3 Insights and the technology brand Lenovo produced this report after asking more than 900 women in the United States, Germany and China about their gaming habits and the representation of women in games.

The result is that 77% of those surveyed admitted having suffered some kind of discrimination due to their gender playing online, the majority negative comments about their ability to play (70%) and receiving condescending comments (50%). 65% mentioned having suffered “gatekeeping”, that is, sexist attitudes and comments implying that they were “less gamer” just because they were a woman. 44% even said that they received “unwanted requests for a relationship.”

To avoid this kind of situation, more than half (59%) hide their gender by playing online.

The survey also asked about gambling habits, with the majority playing video game genres traditionally considered “hardcore” : 88% played competitive games, 75% played action survival games, and 66% played games. shooters.

The positive part is that most were happy with the representation of women in video games , which has changed a lot in recent years, to be more diverse and egalitarian . 80% were happy with the representation of women in AAA games, a percentage that rose to 91% with indie games.

However, many agree that there are ways to improve the industry. 71% agreed that they would like video game ads to show more women playing, while 61% ask that video game companies form female-only eSports teams that compete at the highest levels . Recently, Valorant introduced a project to help women and minorities enter the competitive scene . 

Within the Government, Unidas Podemos also proposed a bill that would facilitate the entry of women into all professional video game sectors, after analyzing that they only represent 16.5% of the people employed directly . Their plans go through the formation of a plan to achieve equal pay, and promote education so that the youngest understand the importance of the equality law, so that prejudices and sexist actions are eliminated in the future.

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