Summit meeting asks: Where are all the women?

New project questions why fewer females than males head to the hills for outdoor pursuits, reports Jody Harrison

THEY are a place where gender is supposed to be unimportant – wild areas where everyone is equal before the power and majesty of nature.

But now a research project has been launched to find out why so few women compared to men visit Scotland’s hills and what can be done to encourage greater participation.

According to the latest research, only one in five people who visits Scotland’s uplands to hike, run trails or cycle is female, while less than 40 per cent of those who take part in outdoor activities are women.

The Women in the Hill (With) network, funded by the Art and Humanities Research Council, was established last week to examine factors in the way of women accessing the outdoors and what shapes their experience when they do.

With’s mission statement, published on its newly created website, says: “The network intends to explore the numerous factors that shape, hinder and enhance women’s engagements with landscape and the natural world.

“Our aim is to bring together academics, creative practitioners and stakeholders across a wide range of disciplines and sectors, to identify and evaluate barriers and catalysts to, and benefits derived from, women’s participation in leisure activities in the hills.

“One of the network’s major outputs will be a policy document identifying numerous barriers to women’s participation, and recommending deliverable improvements, which can be drawn upon by a wide range of individuals and organisations invested in enhancing women’s experiences of walking, running and climbing in the UK hills.”

Among areas to be covered by the network is the lack of studies into women’s relationship with the hills and outdoor activities.

Stressing that female mountaineers’ experiences are different from those of men, With says that only three per cent of sports science studies between 2011 and 2013 used female participants.

It also looks at barriers that limit women’s participation – such as a lack of tailor-made gear. Women’s outdoor clothing is often produced by “pinking and shrinking” garments designed for male bodies, with retailers turning a blind eye to the need for female-appropriate designs.

With has also highlighted the forces that “mute” women’s voices in cultural accounts, with up to 90% of key nature anthologies written by male authors.

The network is being led by Dr Rachel Hewitt of Newcastle University, Dr Kerri Andrews from Edge Hill University, and Dr Joanna Taylor of the University of Manchester and plans to examine the conditions that have shaped women’s pursuits from the flourishing of outdoor leisure in the early 1800s to the present day.

Its ultimate aim is to produce a series of guidelines to inform cultural groups and politicians on ways to improve the quality and frequency of women’s inclusion in mountain-based activities.

Working alongside the project’s partners and advisory board are the conservation charity the John Muir Trust, women’s trail-running company Girls on Hills, health campaigners Pelvic Roar, the National Trust and the Forestry Commission’s poet-in-residence last year, Zakiya Mckenzie.

The network will look at how women experienced uplands in the past, and ask why they matter for societal, psychological and health development.

Izzy Filor, a conservation officer with the John Muir Trust, said: “We hope that the Women in the Hills research network will inspire and support people to experience wild places, especially those who may not currently feel able to.”

Founder of Girls on Hills, Keri Wallace, said: “Girls on Hills are excited to be part of a diverse and talented team, coming together with the goal of rewriting the history of women in the UK hills, and setting a new and easier path for women in the future.”

We hope the… research network will inspire and support people to experience wild places