The world of Gaming is very male-dominated, but over the last years more and more women have found their way into it, and therefore also into streaming. But is streaming really easier for women?
Most people will agree that the female experience on Twitch is very different from the male experience. But usually, that is where the agreeing stops. While many claim that women on Twitch have it easier, saying things like: People will just click on your stream because you're female, others disagree.
2021 Twitch Leaks
In 2021, a list of the highest earning Twitch Channels got leaked and took over the internet. People were shocked, but not only because information of such sorts even became public in the first place, but also because of the information in it.
While female streamers had been getting accused of having it way easier in the industry at that time already, the Twitch leaks shed new light on that statement: The top 10 featured groups that stream together and many men, but not a single woman. In fact, the first woman on the list was Pokimane on rank 39. This obviously sparked even more conversation.
The entirety of Twitch got leaked, including source code and creator payouts: xQcOW, Ibai, Asmongold, shroud and more.https://t.co/uQWZx8cZ33 pic.twitter.com/WYUzcJJ4Me
— Instant Gaming (@InstantGamingEN) October 6, 2021
Female Streamers Have A "Glass Ceiling"
In an older clip, streamer Mizkif reacts to a Pokimane video and talks about how women have it easier, but only in the beginning of their careers. He states:
Women have a much easier time getting that inital 100-200 viewers [...] but women have a glass ceiling, and it is almost impossible to get through.
He basically explains that female streamers usually have an easier time building an initial audience, but a much harder time growing beyond that. The glass ceiling he refers to is therefore, according to him, only there for women. But that was years ago and has changed by now, or has it?
The Current State Of Streaming
After the Twitch Leaks in 2021, the streaming world continued to change. What was once a part of the internet that experienced a massive boom due to COVID has since settled and created a new fruitful environment for people to entertain others in. Communities grew and new streamers emerged – many of which were female.
In September of 2024, female V-Tuber Ironmouse became the most subbed to streamer of all time, and even in January of 2026, Ironmouse was still in the top 5 most subbed streamers. However, she is still the only one in the top 25, with the first female face-cam streamer being kkatamina on 34 at the time of writing. Though that does not directly translate to earnings, it is still telling.
We can see change in the community, but ultimately we need a lot more work and more time to change the underlying mechanisms within it. Since the world of gaming has been understood to be more male within society, people started accepting that as a fact. Any then perceived intrusion by a woman is therefore hard to stomach for the most insecure of these community members. Because as Mizkif also pointed out in his clip:
Guys wanna watch guys. Usually, that's how it works.