“And it’s just to you, it’s not to him, right?”

Abstract

The outdoor leadership field has historically been male-dominated; while there have been positive developments over the past decades, women still face gender-related challenges. This research project explores the challenges women outdoor leaders encounter by collecting their stories. Contributing to the existing body of literature can increase awareness and further, the conversation to make the outdoor leadership field more inclusive and equal. To collect stories, seven women outdoor leaders participated in an individual interview. They shared their challenges, how they were treated differently compared to their male colleagues, how gender socialisation influenced how they perceived their competence, and what they thought could be the next step towards inclusivity and equality in outdoor leadership. The main findings showed that most challenges are rooted in gender socialisation and traditional gender stereotyping. The women encounter authority challenges and micro-aggressions and feel they must constantly prove themselves. The participants experienced that people question their competence and physical abilities and that the words of male colleagues are valued higher than their words. Gender socialisation affects how women perceive their competence, causing doubt and unconscious biases. The participants believe that the next steps that should be taken could include: more role models and representation, awareness and education, and support systems. Further research is needed to explore what practical steps could entail and how they can be implemented. Additionally, to increase inclusivity and equality, further research is required to explore outdoor leadership challenges people with different backgrounds encounter regarding race, class, sexuality and ability.

Keywords: outdoor leadership, women, challenges, sociocultural constructivism, gender socialisation, feminism