CTRL, ALT, HACKED: Women In Gaming
Facing A Culture Of Stereotypes, Harassment, & Misogyny
This week in cybersecurity news from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine, Sausalito, Calif., November 7, 2025:
More than 40 percent of adolescent gamers in the U.S. avoid media that portrays women in a “stereotypical and harmful way,” according to the Teens and Screens Report 2025 by the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at UCLA. The study surveyed 1,500 young gamers aged 10 to 24 about their gaming experiences.
Among the key findings, 42 percent of female gamers consciously avoid games that depict women negatively. A major concern highlighted was harassment, with over half of women and girls feeling pressured to “act a certain way” due to their gender, race, or other aspects of identity.
Why This Topic Matters
“Every hacker I’ve met is a gamer,” says Fergus Hay, co-founder of The Hacking Games, a community supporting people with hacking skills to find cybersecurity jobs.
Women currently represent about 30 percent of the global cybersecurity workforce, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. Since gaming serves as an entry point to cybersecurity, creating a safe and supportive environment for girls is essential to increase their participation to 50 percent.
Summary
Addressing harmful stereotypes and harassment in gaming is vital to empower more young women to enter cybersecurity, a field where they remain underrepresented.
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