Using gamer voice chat as a safe space to talk about gender equality with Singapore men

Men have a hard time talking about women’s rights in Singapore. With 57% of men still believing that men are the head of the household, many men fear being judged by their peers if they even bring it up.

But in online video games, men talk openly and anonymously with strangers over voice chat from the comfort of their own home. With 2.8M Singapore gamers and approx 70% being men, it’s the perfect platform to start an open conversation.

Introducing EqualPlay, the worlds first charity campaign powered by in-game voice chat. Each new pledge builds our network of gender rights gamers. They spread the gender message competitively, as they fight to win the HeForShe impact award presented by the United Nations.

Online games give Singapore men a safe place to talk to each other, no matter the issue.

Online video games, like Fortnight, Rocket League and League of Legends are hugely popular in Singapore. The games put Singapore strangers in teams together, where they talk over voice chat in order to strategise and win.

Often these voice chats turn into real conversations, where gamers get to know each other and talk about pressing issues. Gamers feel safe to talk openly online, with anonymity and a safe space playing around them at home.

Create a gaming army of gender rights activists #equalplay

1. HeForShe employees and volunteers join popular online video games using the gamer-tag #EqualPlay. They game on Singapore servers and start open conversations with gamers that lead to chats about women’s rights.

2. We send gamers a link to HeForShe.com/EqualPlay in-game, so they can pledge to the cause. They can sign-up to become a EqualPlay gaming advocate themselves, with the best advocate winning a UN award.

3. We then work with famous game streamer PewDePie to amplify and demonstrate how to start an in-game chat about gender equality, being streamed on Facebook Gaming Video.

4. Finally we take the conversation into the real world at the MTV HyperPlay eSports tournament in Singapore. Viewed by hundreds of millions of people. We make a statement to all of Singapore by reducing the grand prize by 18%, the gender pay gap in Singapore. This money is donated back to HeForShe to help close the gender gap.

Gamers are renowned for being competitive, let’s give them something important to be competitive about.

Each new advocate changes their gamer-tag to EqualPlay. They are given a unique web link that they can share with other gamers. Those with the most engagement and clicks on their unique web link are rewarded with gamer points. The highest EqualPlay advocate score for the year wins the HeForShe impact award from the UN. Gamifying gender activism.

Streaming the conversation to the community

We’ll work with PewDePie (66 million subscribers) and other famous gamers, to spread the message on Facebook Gaming Video, reaching and teaching even more people through social media.

Demonstrate the gender pay gap to the world, by reducing eSport prize money by 18%.

The final touch point is the MTV Hyperplay eSports tournament in Singapore. Viewed by hundreds of millions of people globally. After starting a genuine conversation in-game and on social media, we create a stunt that takes the conversation offline and into the real world.

We reduce the Hyperplay’s grand prize by 18%, the gender pay gap in Singapore. This 18% loss in prize money will spark media attention and social media buzz, with a rally of Singapore gamers already supporting the cause. The 18% is donated to HeForShe to help fund more gender equality initiatives.

Young Spikes Gold - Ben Grant