As a woman that strives to perform at a high level of competition, I have purposely chosen not to participate in the Women’s Divisions at Pinvasion and PPO because I wanted to keep my focus on qualifying for the Main and Classics divisions. It’s hard enough to qualify in two divisions - it’s pushing it to qualify in three, especially if Women’s finals take place during Main division qualifying. (A difficult trade-off.)
Nevertheless, the prize pools are growing so large (see INDISC), that they are becoming harder and harder to resist. If playing in the Women’s Division will pay for my trip, I have to give it some serious consideration.
So, like @MCS, I have a concern that women will take the shorter lines and bigger prize pools and effectively segregate themselves from high-level competition.
That said, the shorter lines and bigger prize pools are energizing the female base. It’s undeniable. I can’t think of a time when women have been so fired up to play, compete, and win big cash prizes.
I think it’s important to support this, grow our numbers, and once we see a more even number of both genders competing - then we can consider steps to desegregate if it’s a huge issue. But, at this particular juncture, I think the focus needs to be on increasing visibility and encouraging participation.
I think having separate women’s banks is highly effective on this front (even if it’s vexing on a personal time management level).
