CTRL, ALT, HACKED: Women In Gaming. Facing A Culture Of Stereotypes, Harassment, & Misogyny. - Cybercrime Magazine

Cybersecurity News. PHOTO: Cybercrime Magazine. 07 Nov CTRL, ALT, HACKED: Women In Gaming. Facing A Culture Of Stereotypes, Harassment, & Misogyny. Posted at 08:11h in Blogs by Amanada Glassner This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine Sausalito, Calif. – Nov. 7, 2025 – Listen to the podcast Over 40 percent of adolescent gamers in the U.S. avoid media depicting women in a “stereotypical and harmful way”, according to a new study. The Teens and Screens Report 2025, conducted by the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at UCLA, surveyed 1,500 adolescents (ages 10-24) about their experiences with gaming. The report found that 42 percent of women and girls steer clear of games that portray women in a derogatory way. One of the biggest issues amongst those surveyed was a fear of harassment. The study found that over half of women and girl gamers felt as though they had to “act a certain way” when gaming because of “gender, race, or other identity.” Why is this topic so important? “Every hacker I’ve met is a gamer,” says Fergus Hay, co-founder of The Hacking Games, a community that helps people with hacking skills get cybersecurity jobs. Women currently make up around 30 percent of the global cybersecurity workforce, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. Gaming is a gateway to our industry, and it’s critical to provide girls with a safe and supportive online gaming environment to help move the needle to 50 percent. In this special CTRL, ALT, HACKED Podcast episode bolstered by a panel of women, Cybercrime Magazine host Amanda Glassner is joined by Charlie Osborne, Editor-at-Large and Taylor Fox, Media Coordinator, to discuss the new study’s findings, recent examples of harassment against women in the gaming industry, and protecting players in this environment. Listen to the Podcast episode   Cybercrime Magazine · CTRL, ALT, HACKED. Women In Gaming. Facing A Culture Of Stereotypes, Harassment, & Misogyny.  Cybercrime Magazine is Page ONE for Cybersecurity. Go to any of our sections to read the latest: SCAM. The latest schemes, frauds, and social engineering attacks being launched on consumers globally. NEWS. Breaking coverage on cyberattacks and data breaches, and the most recent privacy and security stories. HACK. Another organization gets hacked every day. We tell you who, what, where, when, and why. VC. Cybersecurity venture capital deal flow with the latest investment activity from various sources around the world. M&A. Cybersecurity mergers and acquisitions including big tech, pure cyber, product vendors and professional services. BLOG. What’s happening at Cybercrime Magazine. Plus the stories that don’t make headlines (but maybe they should). PRESS. Cybersecurity industry news and press releases in real time from the editors at Business Wire. PODCAST. New episodes daily on the Cybercrime Magazine Podcast feature victims, law enforcement, vendors, and cybersecurity experts. RADIO. Tune into WCYB Digital Radio at Cybercrime.Radio, the first and only round-the-clock internet radio station devoted to cybersecurity. Contact us to send story tips, feedback and suggestions, and for sponsorship opportunities and custom media productions. Print page