Futures First Gaming’s (FFG) virtual Girls Who Game tournament took place on Saturday,
26 June 2021. The organisers have created a unique opportunity for young female gamers
and their families to hear from women professionals about this exciting, yet often
misunderstood, male-dominated industry.
“At the core of what FFG is doing is to bring opportunities to black and brown youth, but
really I think part of that goes hand in hand with expanding opportunities to anyone who’s
been told that gaming is not for you. I think that’s something a lot of women and girls have
been told online, or even by a parent. So the point of the panels is to show women and
young girls that there’s someone that looks like you that’s super successful in this field, show
how they got there, what advice they have, and then giving parents advice about how they
can support their daughters.” stated Emily Zbyszynski, the startup’s esports expansion
strategist.
“The event is going to be run by women, all of the panelists are women and we designed the
event with games popular with women. We’ve got Call of Duty Warzone Duos, Tekken 7 and
NBA 2k21. Playing in duos, especially, is more popular than playing solo with women.” She
continued.
“I’m really excited about the panels. With how broad gaming is as a whole, it’s a shame that
there aren’t more women in it. We’ll open a dialogue about industry gender biases, how
important that is for the industry to grow going forward. One of the things that we’re focusing
on with both of our panels is action points — what’s something that the gaming industry can
do that can make women and girls feel like they belong. It’s important to emphasize that we
need to talk about it, but even more importantly, it’s time to start doing.”
Ultimately, it’s about “expanding opportunities to anyone who’s been told that gaming is not
for you,” said Emily.
Keep updated on Futures First Gaming and their initiatives here:
https://www.futuresfirstgaming.com/