In numeric terms, the world is split pretty evenly between men and women, but unfortunately, this does not always translate into an equal and fair society.

However, women are becoming more visible in pursuits that might normally have been considered ‘male dominated’ – video gaming being one of the most prominent.

Back in the 1990s, when Sony released its first ever PlayStation model to much acclaim, it was estimated that one in five gamers was female. Today, that proportion has more than doubled to 41%.

Games developers have a chicken-and-egg-type scenario to try to figure out – is there an increasing number of girl and women gamers because the titles they develop are becoming more female-friendly, or does this market sector actively want to seek out games such as Call of Duty and GTA which were traditionally associated with men?

Rewriting the script

Gaming and cinema followed the same blueprint for much of the 1900s. Women were eye candy, maternal figures, or damsels in distress who needed to be saved – according to those who scripted fictional content, anyway.

There was something of a sea-change when Lara Croft first slipped into her gun belt in the 1990s, but even then the feminist role model concept – here was a strong woman kicking the butt of all manner of baddies – was tainted somewhat by the fact that the developers felt that Lara had to resemble a Playboy model to attract a certain kind of male gamer.

Women are still underrepresented on the small screen, but things are moving in the right direction when you consider the likes of Evie Frye in Assassin’s Creed and Jill Valentine of Resident Evil. And Ellie in The Last of Us was one of the first openly gay characters of either genre in a major studio release.

It feels like progress, but we’re still a long way short of the 41% of female gamers being represented similarly on screen. There’s also still an ‘industry’ bias that is out of kilter with the real world – one in 10 workers in the armed forces are female. Only Battlefield, out of the major war franchises, has allowed for a playable female character to be used, and this didn’t come until 2018 – a good two decades or so too late.

The stats are captivating, and the signs are that female gamers are here to stay – the number of women players has been stable between 40% and 45% for more than a decade. So, isn’t it high time that the industry reflected this demographic trend?

From the top down

We know that there is the demand for female-led gaming, so where is the supply?

Perhaps that dearth of female-led games can be linked to the severe lack of women in senior roles at gaming firms – according to one survey, at the top 14 studios, some 121 of the senior executives and decision makers were male – with just 23 women in similar positions.

Influence surely needs to come from within the industry, but this is going to be hard to achieve when just 28% of game developers are female – even today, we have men making decisions on which games to make that are then largely also made by men.

The episode that unfolded at Riot Games in May 2019 revealed what an uncomfortable sector game development can be for women. More than 150 workers at the firm, which produces online gaming behemoth League of Legends, among other titles, walked out over its handling of sexism, harassment and misconduct issues – a truly sorry state of affairs in the 21st century.

If change is not forthcoming from the top down, how can the sector ever truly represent its diverse audience?

All about the plot

As gaming’s horizons have been broadened by the ever-advancing technology available to developers, an exploration of bigger and bolder titles has drawn in more female players.

There have been countless studies into the types of games that women favor, and typically simulation and relaxed puzzle-based outings (i.e. Candy Crush Saga) have always ranked high.

However, there is a growing number of female gamers attracted by plot-led dynamics, where characters are three-dimensional, developed and don’t just walk around blowing up stuff. In contrast, according to a 2017 survey carried out by Quantic Foundry, just 4% of those playing ‘tactical shooters’ are female and a lowly 2% are enjoying the latest sports-based releases.

To ensure that the demands of female gamers are met, the nature of the titles released has to reflect their interests and preferences.

The big picture

While console gaming has helped to bridge the gap between male and female players, other niches within the sector have a long way to go.

> There seems to be a stigma for women when playing online, and particularly testosterone-fueled multiplayer games where there are still unacceptably high levels of abuse towards female players. The fact that just 27.6% of Fortnite players are women, for example, reveals that even the most popular online games are yet to have the same appeal as character-led, offline narratives.

Other areas of gaming are also light years behind. Around 28% of people who play online casino games are female. However, this does tend to vary on a site-by-site basis – those that offer bingo games and some branded slots tend to have a higher female-to-male ratio.

The takeaway point is that console gaming has worked hard on improving the gender balance, and that 41% figure is almost – but not quite – reflective of wider population demographics.

There’s a lot of work for online gaming and eSports to do before they can be considered masters of equality, and we call upon all of the large gaming studios to consider their audience and the identities of their key decision-makers – does your board of executives represent that 59-41 split?