Esports has a place among the most inclusive sports of all time, but currently all major competitions have almost no women participating. The presentation dives into some of the reasons of why and how we got here, and what's being done to change it.

1. DIVERSITY
IN ESPORTS
Fernando Pereira
President @ Grow uP eSports
Operations Director @ Evoloop
Organizer of the GIRLGAMER Esports Festival
FP@GROWUPESPORTS.COM
www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoxpereira
MARCH 2019

2. 2
A GAMING COMMUNITY SINCE 2002

3. 3
EMBRACING DIVERSITY AS THE NORM

4. 4
ESPORTS REPRESENTATION:
STATE OF AFFAIRS

5. 5
MAJOR TOURNAMENTS S T A T E O F A F F A I R S
Today’s major esports tournaments have less than 1% of women representation,
despite being open for any gender to participate.

6. 6
HOW DID WE GET HERE? C U L T U R A L S T E R E O T Y P E S
Source: Polygon“No Girls Allowed (2013)”
Among other reasons, videogames have always been marketed towards boys, while girls
were supposed to play with dolls or anything else from the pink section of a toys store.

7. 7
THE USUAL VIDEOGAMES HERO I N - G A M E R E P R E S E N T A T I O N
Game protagonists tend to be muscular, broad-shouldered, alpha male archetypes,
fulfilling a fantasy that the player is a strong man who can kill a bunch of enemies single-
handedly with a comically oversized, phallic weapon.

8. 8
WOMEN REPRESENTATION I N V I D E O G A M E S & P O P C U L T U R E
Evolving from being a reward,
powerless or sexualized, into
empowerment icons!

9. 9
WOMEN IN ESPORTS:
WHAT ARE
THE NUMBERS?

10. 10
WOMEN IN ESPORTS G R O W T H A N D T R E N D
38 Million
Female
Enthusiasts
63 Million
Female
Viewers
Source: NewZoo 2018 Global Esports Market Report
2017
46 Million
Female
Enthusiasts
73 Million
Female
Viewers
2018
Total: 143M
Total: 192M
Total: 165M
Total: 215M

11. 11
WOMEN IN ESPORTS G R O W T H A N D T R E N D
Strong-growing yet undermined and
underrepresented community!
Source: Interpret / NewZoo 2018 Global Esports Market Report
2018
+34%
Female Viewership
Growth over 2 years
(+6.5% on Total Viewers)
2016 2017 2018
67M 77M 120M

12. 12
WOMEN IN ESPORTS T H E C H A L L E N G E S
Everyday,
millions of women gamers are still being
harassed simply because of their gender.
Constant
verbal abuse
Inappropriate
images or links
Sexual
harassment
Threats
(rape, death)

13. 13
WOMEN IN ESPORTS T H E C H A L L E N G E S
Even when they breakthrough and demonstrate a high level of skill,
most are still denied joining a professional team due to concerns of
creating instability among the team’s communication and teamwork.

14. 14
WE WANTED TO DO
SOMETHING ABOUT IT
WAS BORN

15. 15
WATCH TH E R ECA P OF OU R 2 0 1 8 ED I TI ON

16. 16
The GIRLGAMER Esports Festival is an exciting and unique event
focused on celebratingwomen’s competitiveness in esports.
ZAAZ EMUHLEET TIFA ANA

17. 17
CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR WOMEN TO THRIVE
We believe that female-focused events are a necessary stepping stone to support the
move towards having more women participation in major tournaments.

18. 18
DEVELOP & PROMOTE INSPIRING ROLE MODELS
We believe that promoting women representation will inspire young
girls to join the competition, which in turn will lead to an increase of
the overall female player-base and a more diverse ecosystem.
DIGNITAS ARMY VALKYRIE

19. 19
RAISE AWARENESS TO THE ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
We gave voice to girl gamers by producing a docuseries
that dive into their stories and challenges, in an effort
to raise awareness and start inspiring change.

20. 20
More women supporting and mentoring organizations
More women Leagues and Tournaments
New products catered to women
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING? O T H E R S T U F F

21. 21
Brands are championing women empowerment more than ever!
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING? O T H E R S T U F F
She Breaks Barriers
Increase women representation in
broadcasted sports
Dream Crazier
A crazy dream becomes reality
when you just do it
She’s Next
Encourage entrepreneurs as
they build, sustain and
advance their businesses

22. CASE STUDY
22
“I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did, but people will never
forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou

23. 23
PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT P R E S S

24. 24
S E P H O R A
BRAND ACTIVATION
The personalized gift bag from Sephora was crucial to make the
perfect first impression and ensure that the players felt welcome and special!

25. 25
SOCIAL MEDIA C L I P P I N G

26. 26
SOCIAL MEDIA C L I P P I N G

27. 27
DIVERSITY IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD
“We believe that, just as in the beauty market, gaming is no longer
represented nor limited by genders.” - Sephora

28. GENDER EQUALITY
is about pushing towards the inexistence of different levels between
genders and the creation of the same opportunities for everyone.
You don’t have to be a man or a woman to do it,
you just have to be human.
28

29. THANK YOU
Fernando Pereira
FP@GROWUPESPORTS.COM
WWW.GIRLGAMER.GG