At the just concluded Creation Africa forum, a global culture and creative industries platform organized by the French government that convened 323 creatives in Paris, France, an eGames championship held. The competition featured only one female gamer, Kenya’s Silvia Gathoni, and one female administrative staff. That roused the question, where are the women in eSports? and more specifically, where are black women in eGames?
Women in eGames, is a rare sight. Compared to black women in eGames and eSports, the later appears little to non-existent.
Decades since gaming penetrated Africa, the problem is not the absence of female gamers or eSports player but a plethora of reasons such as culture, perception of women in gaming and gaming in general, and ignorance of the broader spectrum of engagement in the gaming industry beyond the technical, and as a competitor.
Speaking of experience as a gamer, Cholwe Elen Shabukali, co-founder of Team Gametrix in Zambia, said the absence of women in eSports has more to do safety, and cultural barrier and lack of access to finance.
Cholwe got involved in eSports through her love of video games like Tekken and Mortal Kombat while growing up, which transcended to eSports leading her to participate as a spectator in a gaming tournament in 2016, then a startup Team Gametrix in 2017.
“In Zambia, there are girls who play at home. They have their consoles and their equipment, but they don’t have the space where they feel free to be a part of the general eSports community. It always feels more male dominated even at the hierarchical level of the ecosystem. There are only a few of us there.
“When you go down to the grassroots, often times, it boils down to the basics. Yes, we tell people about gaming but can they afford the consoles and the PCs?
On the other hand, she noted that gaming remains largely a hobby that parents consider a waste of time, and inconsequential. That in addition to the pushback from the male populace in the gaming industry, leaves females in gaming with a certain mindset – “just focus on our passion and goals and ignore the noise around us”.
For Afrogameuse’s Jennifer Lufau, having a mother who didn’t discourage her interest in video games, and growing up in Berlin which gave her access to a cyberspace to flourish, didn’t shield her from the toxicity, misogyny and loneliness that comes from being a black girl in a space largely dominated by white males.
Black women in gaming also experience misogyny, harassment and racism which discourages many from participating in public competitions or shrink away from the spotlight.
Add to that the misrepresentation of blacks and black women as a result of stereotyping in gaming narratives, black women have their work cut out for them.
“There are a few black characters in games. But they are mostly side characters like Franklin in Grand Theft Auto, that plays criminals and gangs. There’s the angry black woman which also appears in movies. There are black characters that are misogynists. And you rarely find black women character who fall in love in games. They are sexualized, sometimes fetishized. It happens that there are black characters that are animalized.
“Black women go through sexism everyday, and we see that in our community (comprising largely of 600 women) of streamers on Twitch, who have people call them the N word every day. Black women have the responsibility of protecting ourselves when it comes to harassers who need to be penalized.
“This is a shame as we are trying to encourage women to start streaming more, and to take their place in the space,” said Lufau.
However, it is for such reasons that her platform Afrogameuse was established as a non-profit working with games studios and streaming platforms like Twitch to increase visibility of black women, as well as trying to work with the platform to help protect black women streamers and to address misrepresentation of blacks and black women in gaming.
The easiest way to achieve this, she said is to get black men and women in the industry to do the work themselves.
“We need to educate our children and teenagers on how to gain access into the industry. As women, it is hard for us to project ourselves into that space if we don’t see it. thus, when I attend gaming events, I don’t like to be the only woman or black woman there to talk about diversity. It is more impactful to have more women in gaming talk about it.”
Lufau further suggested parents’ introduction and nurturing of their children’s interest in eGames at an early age noting, “It may not necessarily mean they would work in games later on, but it increases their chances of desiring to know more about gaming.
“Teachers should have this responsibility of teaching about jobs in this space, not stereotyping games as an unserious hobby. We need to have more gaming studies so people can take classes in games design, narrative design etc.”
By teaching girls gaming jobs are not just technical, said Lufau but has a creative aspect, it encourages them to use their current skills like herself – a marketer – to work in gaming.
“A big chunk of this awareness creation falls on us leaders,” Cholwe. Female leaders in the gaming industry an eSports, she said must share more information on the opportunities of jobs that abound in the ecosystem, beyond being a player.
“We need to let them know that you don’t have to be a player to be a part of the gaming ecosystem. There are other factors of the ecosystem that one be suitably placed in – as a games’ developer, an interactive media designer, a shout caster similar to a commentator during games, website designer, or an apparel designer within the ecosystem. It falls down on us leaders to create a pipeline of information and an environment where people can have access to a wider look at the ecosystem.
eGamer, Silvia Gathoni suggests the creation of women only eGames events and to safely bridge the skills gap, thereby allowing female eGamers easily transition into mixed-or-gender-neutral events but only as a short-term solution.
“I think eSports/eGames is one place where I feel true equality can be achieved because there are no biological differences that come into play when participating in both. There is a place for everybody regardless of race, gender or country of origin.”
Afrogameuse is set to develop its eSports branch next year, having organized women only tournaments in the past, as a means of helping more women take up the space in eSports and joining teams – via emphasis on existing role models of female gamers – that prospective female gamers can emulate.
Meantime, Cholwe’s Team Gametrix, has been hosting local tournaments in Zambia, and supporting players wish to play professionally to transcend their passion into a viable career.
On how platforms like Creation Africa can impact women’s inclusion in eGames, Gathoni says it highlights eAthletes as creatives, and a conversation starter to include more minorities.
While Lufau believes the platform could do better, she acknowledges the difficulty of accessing the right people.
“I think it should first of all always think of parity. It should think of having the same amount of male participants as females participating either as players or jury. It is important for us to give exposure to women who are making games. There are a lot of women making games. Unfortunately, they don’t get the exposure they need.
“I think Creation Africa did great for a first edition in general, when it comes to women (in gaming) it needs to do more. It is hard to find the right names. I will try my best to help them also at the next edition to do better,” she concluded.
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