MY CAREER AS A WOMAN IN ESPORTS: EQUAL ESPORTS COUNCIL WITH PANEL TALK AT CAGGTUS LEIPZIG

CAGGTUS took place in Leipzig between the 14th and 16th of April 2023. The CAGGTUS is a festival that is by the gaming community for the gaming community. The event is about gaming, eSports and much more. Among many other interesting programme topics, a panel talk on the topic of "My career as a woman in eSports" took place on Saturday, 15th April.
The talk was moderated by Jana Möglich. Jana is part of the Equal eSports Council and also deals with the topic of eSports academically as a doctoral student, lecturer, author and speaker. She is co-founder and 2nd chairperson of the eSports regional association of Schleswig-Holstein.
Other participants from the Equal eSports Initiative were Dr Julia Hiltscher and Stella "solar" Gottfried. Like Jana Möglich, Juia Hiltscher is part of the Equal eSports Council. She is a founding member of the Esports Research Network and works as a sustainability consultant, author and speaker.
Stella Gottfried is part of the #equalesports talent development and works as an observer at Freaks4U.
Furthermore, Daniela Stahl, who already offered workshops on "Careers in eSports" at the Equal eSports Festival together with Jana Möglich, participated in the panel. She is the founder of the eSports agency "Nordix-Play" and co-founder and financial director of the eSports association of Schleswig-Holstein.
The talk dealt with a career in eSports, what skills are necessary and what challenges exist for women and non-binary people.
The following quotes can be highlighted from the talk:

"When I organise events or panels, for example, I naturally make sure that the speakers are at least balanced. More attention should be paid to such things in general. If you have the opportunity to empower people, then you should consciously use it.
- Jana Möglich

"Especially within the Equal eSports Initiative, we also have a social responsibility. We are primarily responsible for the talents. For example, the training must be designed in such a way that the talents stay healthy and have the chance to become better and thus do not experience any disadvantages. But equally, the clan should have a social responsibility towards the players. What do they do if, for example, their professional career does not take off in the next two years? What measures are taken? What can be done preventively?"
- Julia Hiltscher

"I have been part of the Equal eSports talent development since its inception and it is remarkable how many more women and non-binary people have already participated in the 2nd round of the selection process. It's just necessary to draw attention to the whole issue and show that women are also interested in working in eSports or even becoming a professional player."
- Stella Gottfried

"I have had very few bad experiences as a woman in the industry. At the beginning, however, I did notice that I was not perceived as such as a female contact, because the male contact was always preferred. You practically had to establish yourself once and draw attention to the fact that as a woman you can also have an idea about eSports and events and also about technical things."
- Daniela Stahl