Company Member Spotlight: gameHERs

Tell us about your company!

The gameHERs is a media platform and social networking community for women who game and work in the gaming industry. Of the billions of gamers in the world, half are women. The majority of women experience harassment, hate and toxicity while gaming simply for being women. Because of this, many women gamers long for an easy way to find other women to meet and game with based on shared experiences. With our first of its kind women-led social networking and game matchmaking app, (launching Spring 2021), coupled with our community generated content, the*gameHERs amplifies women in the gaming space and enables them to easily and safely find other women to socialize and game with.

Why did your company get involved in the esports industry?

We wanted to create a safe space that honored, celebrated and amplified women in the gaming space. The colorful backgrounds of the four co-founders bring together various life experiences and skills, from toy inventing in gaming, community building, e-sports, race relations, and social justice. Through our ongoing work and conversations with so many women in the gaming space, we heard and saw the need for safe and celebratory spaces that honor and connect women, femme-identifying and non-binary gamers.

Since your company entered the esports industry, what has been the biggest industry change or trend that you’ve seen?

In 2020, we started an annual awards show called The*GameHERs Awards so we could recognize exceptional women in gaming. We felt it was critical to create an outlet that highlights all the incredible work women are doing in the gaming and esports industries. As a result, we saw an overwhelming amount of positivity and recognition circulate online. As we all know, logging onto social media networks can be a less than uplifting experience, but with this awards show, we continued to see women lift each other up for months. Even after nominations went live, finalists were chosen, and winners were announced, women were still congratulating their peers and setting personal and career goals for next year because of our awards show. We loved to see that significant change in the gaming space, and we never want it to end.

What work has the company has already done within the esports industry? What do you see as the company’s biggest win since you started?

We created the only awards show in gaming by women, for women called The GameHERs Awards. Once of the categories in these awards was dedicated to honoring exceptional women in esports. These awards recognized women in all aspects of gaming for their dedication to creating content, building communities, and empowering each other. We considered this a huge win for numerous reasons: we had 8 weeks of virtual events leading up to the finale, our community ended up nominating over 600 women in the gaming space, we received over 75K votes within a few short weeks, and our finale was live streamed on the front page of Twitch!

How do you plan to dominate the space?

Women already dominate the gaming world; we are just bringing attention to that. By encouraging women in our social networking community and in the gaming industry in general, we hope to transform the way women are recognized and treated in these spaces. While we cannot change the way people act overnight, we can provide a community for women that is free from the hate and harassment experienced online in the gaming space. By continuously encouraging and recognizing women in gaming, we hope to eliminate toxicity in communities outside of our own.

What would your company like to see the esports industry do better?

While half of all gamers in the world are women, very few are signed by professional organizations as content creators or streamers, and even less are competing in top tier professional teams. This is not because women lack gaming skills, but due to persisting sexism within the industry. We aim to correct that over time by showcasing the exceptionally talented women gamers out there and giving them the encouragement to try out for professional teams. We also plan to partner with esports and gaming organizations in order to continue conversations about the importance of eliminating toxicity for women and to encourage the representation of women in those spaces.

What does your company imagine the state of the esports industry will be like in 10 years and where do you imagine your company in that space?

We hope to see much more representation of women in esports organizations within the next 10 years, and we plan to lead that charge. Right now, it is rare to see a woman on a professional esports team, but in 10 years, we believe women will take over the space. We’re hoping the The*gameHERs will be one reason why there is more representation of women in esports as well as less toxicity in gaming in the future. With the launch of our networking and matchmaking app this Spring and the continuation of The*GameHERs Awards annual event, we hope to to be a lasting presence of positivity and inclusivity for women for years to come.

Categorized in: Company Spotlight