British Esports’ Women in Esports initiative, which was launched in 2019 to focus on promoting more inclusivity and diversity within the esports industry, has been recognized by the Women in Games Global Awards. The initiative has been lauded for catering to the esports community and creating a welcoming community for women and marginalized genders.

The Women in Esports initiative was initiated three years ago with the ambition of amplifying the participation of women in the Esports community, and it has fulfilled those ambitions to some extent by delivering several projects and activations, including;

• A partnership with the Dota Valkyries to increase female participation in Dota 2
• Hosting a Valorant Showmatch at Insomnia 69.
• Running and maintaining a growing Women in Esports Discord community.
• Maintaining an advisory committee with members from various sectors of the industry.

Notably, the Women in Esports team were also present at the hugely successful inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships at the ICC, Birmingham, to support the women’s teams and players. All the women’s teams secured medals in their respective games at the mega event. Billie Purdie, Women in Esports manager, expressed her delight at their nomination for the prestigious award.

“I am ecstatic that Women in Esports has been nominated for the ‘Most Inclusive Initiative’ award globally in esports. Diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of everything we do, so to have recognition for our efforts feels very rewarding. The work the Women in Esports team put in is second to none, and we’re excited by what lies ahead,” said Billie Purdie.

Andy Payne, British Esports OBE chair, also reflected on the success of the team and acknowledged the hard work of the involved members in delivering exemplary results in the past three years. Payne also stated that the success has paved way for future objectives as the Women’s team has demonstrated its capabilities of competing at the highest levels.

“This is a great acknowledgment of the hard work that the British Esports Federation and Women in Esports initiative has delivered in the past three years. Huge success at the Commonwealth Esports Championships for the Women’s teams and players clearly shows there is opportunity to compete and succeed at the very highest levels, and we must ensure it continues,” said British Esports OBE chair Andy Payne.