Brazilian esports organisation W7M Esports has announced it is raising the salaries of its women’s rosters to match its men’s teams.
As a result the women players’ salaries will rise by about 300% on average. W7M sponsor Banco do Brasil, one of Latin America’s biggest banks, is the main partner supporting the initiative.
Banco do Brasil and W7M ran a research project on the Brazilian esports scene to determine what is paid by tier-1 organisations in Brazil, using the results to set a base salary. Exact figures, though, were not disclosed.
The initiative not only values the women’s competitive scene but also serves as a push for the whole industry towards balancing investments for men and women in esports. Esports Insider asked W7M Esports Founder, Felipe Funari, about the effects W7M expects for the scene after the move.
“This is the essence of W7M, the majority of the moves we make ought to guide the market. Of course, it is important that we look to ourselves and understand W7M as a business, but it is even more interesting if we get other people following the same path,” said Funari.
“Then we will be able to separate who really takes business seriously to who invests without having a premise, willing just to surf the wave of games and esports. So, for us, it is an honour to lead this initiative and I hope other clubs do the same to evolve the women’s scene even more.”
In an interview with Esports Insider on May 2022, Funari already highlighted the organisation’s focus to develop the local women’s esports scene.
Such focus is also instrumental for Banco do Brasil’s strategy in sponsoring the organisation, as its Marketing Executive Tadeu Figueiró stated in the announcement’s press release: “Since we closed the sponsorship with W7M Esports, we took a mission as our goal: to foment even further female scenario and promote actions that were really relevant.”
The official announcement takes place while W7M and Banco do Brasil share a booth at the Brazil Game Show, the biggest gaming convention in Latin America. In the press release, Funari stated that the initiative is another step towards “promoting equity in the scenario and increasingly valuing women who are passionate about esports.”
W7M currently fields women’s rosters in Free Fire, VALORANT, CS:GO, and Rainbow Six Siege.
