The gender pay gap might not be the most fun topic in the world, but it’s massively important and something that everyone should be aware of – even in the world of video games.
There’s been a lot of advances in the world of gaming over the past few years, especially for women and for women interested in making a career from games, but it’s still not always an even playing field when it comes to gender and pay.
Case and point: recent figures from EsportsEarnings [Via British online Marketplace/VG247].
According to findings from EsportsEarnings, the total money earned from the world’s 400 best females in esports is less than half that of the single top male esports pro. Which is, frankly, more than a little terrifying.
Dota 2 player Johan Sundstein has earned just shy of $7 million USD from tournaments, while the top 400 women together have earned just over $3 million.
Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn is currently the only woman in the list of top 500 esports earners, sitting at number 329 of 500, having earned $333,456.35.
It’s a sad thing to see, especially considering just how far women in gaming have come over the last decade or so. Earlier this year, esports and games analytics, Newzoo conducted a study surrounding female gamers, with very interesting results.
According to the study, Newzoo found that “women account for 46% of all game enthusiasts.”
It also reports that there are more than one billion female gamers out there in our lovely, diverse world.
Female Twitch streamers, esports pros and YouTubers are the norm now, slowly transforming what was once a male-dominated world into something a little more inclusive.
Maybe now we can start working on evening out that playing field in terms of money for those in the industry…?
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay