КІБЕРСПОРТ У ГЕНДЕРНОМУ АСПЕКТІ: ЖУРНАЛІСТСЬКИЙ ПОГЛЯД

Abstract

<p><strong><em>The purpose of the study</em></strong><em> is to identify gender issues in women’s esports in Ukraine and around the world, as well as develop ways to solve them.</em></p><p><strong><em>Research methodology.</em></strong><em> The study used general scientific methods of cognition. The current state of the global and Ukrainian esports industry is analyzed using the method of critical analysis. In the process of synthesizing information, the gender problems of women’s esports are identified. Recommendations for solving these problems are developed using the methods of induction and deduction.</em></p><p><strong><em>Results.</em></strong><em> The study solved a number of tasks: the concept of «esports», popular genres, and features of esports competitions were defined; the current state of the global and Ukrainian esports industry was analyzed; gender problems in women’s esports were identified, and ways to solve them were proposed.</em></p><p><em>Esports is becoming increasingly popular among women. The trend towards an increase in the number of female gamers is confirmed by many international and Ukrainian studies. Nevertheless, the representation of women in esports competitions is insufficient, due to gender issues such as gender discrimination, lack of role models, harassment of women, low earnings compared to men, non-perception as a target group of the gaming industry, and insufficient coverage of the gender discrimination problem in the media. Resolving the gender issues of women's esports and expanding opportunities for women in the gaming industry requires strengthening their role in esports, providing support and resources on an equal footing with men, revising the amount of the prize pool, and developing gender competence in educational institutions.</em></p><p><strong><em>The scientific novelty</em></strong><em> of the results is the developed recommendations aimed at solving gender problems in women’s esports and empowering women in the gaming industry of Ukraine and the world.</em></p><p><strong><em>The practical significance</em></strong><em> of the study lies in the possibility of using the results obtained by Ukrainian esports organizations to solve gender problems in women’s esports.</em></p><p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> gender aspects, esports, video game industry, gender discrimination, International Federation of Esports.</em></p>