Richa Singh, founder and CEO of FanClash, recently talked about women representation, diversity and inclusivity in the gaming and esports sector in an interview with Storyboard18. She also talked about how the industry needs to improve, including through legislation and programs which would help and support women who want to carve out a career in this field.

Talking of the declining gender gap ratio, Richa said that though it is a great step towards the future, the gender-based discrimination that exists hinders women’s advancement in the sector and needs to be addressed.

Richa started her journey as a gamer. She later came to know about the diverse gaming communities that existed. While the popularity of esports was growing, the FanClash team realized that the gaming industry was lacking organized data.

Together with co-founder Rishabh, Richa then discovered a market need for developing digital products in the gaming business, notably in the area of data and fan engagement. She mentioned that she faced gender-related biases on several occasions but through extra effort, data-driven insights and rational arguments she was able to prove her might as an entrepreneur.

Speaking about FanClash, Richa said that the platform has more than 3 million registered users and more than 25 tournaments for popular games like CSGO, League of Legends, and Valorant are featured on the platform.

While most of the player base is male dominated, the platform is watching the female player base grow at a rapid pace, the present male-to-female ratio of their platform is proof of this, she says.

When asked about ways to inspire women to strive for leadership roles in the industry, Richa said that facilitating networking with top professionals in the sector and encouraging them to host mentorship programs are one of the best ways to do that and helps them in establishing their reputation in the industry.

Regarding the government recognizing gaming and esports as sports, Richa believes that it is an important step which would allow for infrastructural support and lead to the thriving of the industry. It will also lead to the implementation of necessary laws to protect gamer rights and ensure minimum risk in the regulated environment.

With regard to the upcoming trends, Richa said that the esports sector is experiencing rapid growth with many professionals and teams emerging and inspiring other gamers and streamers from tier-2 and tier-3 regions. Several popular game titles are also getting a fresh wave of gamers, which will ultimately lead to more firms investing in the Indian gaming industry.