Gender biases in gaming: Have things changed?

As far back as the ‘80s and ‘90s, the gaming industry has received criticism on the topic of gender inequality. Feminist gaming movements gained momentum in the 2000s, bringing to light the more problematic portrayals of female characters and poor treatment of female gamers - ultimately challenging the industry to create a more inclusive space for all genders.

The female gaming landscape 

Today, women make up almost 50% of the gaming population worldwide. In the US, this has actually been the case for about 15 years - a stark reminder of the untapped perspectives and opportunities of a largely underserved audience. 

Women are leading the way in the mobile gaming market, with women making up approximately 46% of worldwide mobile gamers, and 74% of female mobile gamers playing mobile games daily (GWI, 2025). 

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Taking action against inequality

The past decade has seen an increase in initiatives designed to tackle issues around gender inequality, both at the corporate level and within gaming communities.

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Responses to #gamergate

Gamergate is arguably the most notorious example of misogyny in a gaming community. Gamergate was an online harassment campaign that took place between 2014-2015, during which feminist gamers, developers, and journalists were subject to online hate and bullying at the hands of an online male gaming community via channels like Reddit and 4chan. 

In the years following, gaming companies and media outlets took stronger stances against harassment and implemented better moderation policies to protect minority groups from similar incidents. Publishers like Kotaku, Polygon, and Gamasutra updated ethics policies in response to concerns about a lack of transparency, Reddit banned subreddits tied to Gamergate, while Twitter (X) and other platforms introduced stronger anti-harassment policies. 

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Empowering the main female character 

One of the best-known female characters in video gaming is Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft. Critics of Core Design’s Tomb Raider argued that main female characters like Croft’s should symbolize strength and skill, but that these character traits are undermined by the use of revealing clothing and the sense that they’re strong, but not too strong as to alienate the male audience (Lara Croft’s designers described her as ‘frail, someone that you’d want to protect and nurture’ during an interview in 2000).

In the years that followed, Croft underwent many redesigns, including a richer backstory and a change to her bodily proportions to be less centered around the ‘male gaze’. Today, Lara Croft is widely perceived as a strong, well-developed female protagonist, rather than the hyper-sexualized action figure of early Tomb Raider days.

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Tackling sexism in the workplace

The gaming industry has long struggled with sexism in the workplace, including issues like gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and pay gaps. From 2018-2021, American game developer Riot Games faced was taken to court over sexual harassment claims during the one of the most famous lawsuits in gaming history. The company was quick to take action, including bringing on board a Chief Diversity Officer in 2019, setting goals to increase the number of women in the workforce, and discontinuing the employment of implicated senior staff members. Whether these steps will be enough in the long term remains to be seen, but the high profile lawsuit highlighted widespread mistreatment of female staff across the industry, empowering women to come forward about their own experiences and change the status quo. 

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Grass-roots change 

Perhaps the most direct, impactful change has taken place at a community level. Women-led gaming communities have taken matters into their own hands to create global non-profit organizations that focus on building networks and a safe space for women in gaming to connect and share. Organizations such as Women in Games and New-York based The*GameHers host high profile careers events, ambassador programs and award ceremonies to celebrate and empower female gaming talent. 

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Continuing to make strides for gender equality 

There’s no doubt that the gaming industry has taken meaningful steps toward creating a better environment for women through policy changes, safer online spaces, and better representation in games. But there is still progress to be made in all these areas.

The research predicts that the industry will grow to 3.8 billion gamers worldwide by 2030, bringing about demand from more diverse and broader audiences. As the gaming ecosystem grows, it’s the responsibility of creators and consumers alike to keep gender equality on the agenda. Continuing to create more experiences that resonate with female audiences, and consciously rejecting ingrained societal biases in the way we talk about gaming, are key to achieving a truly equitable environment for women in our industry.