‘Many women don’t feel confident enough for adventure’
THIS latest survey surprises me because, in my experience over the last five to 10 years, the biggest area of growth that I have seen in the outdoors environment, especially in Scotland, has been women. This is especially true of the last few years. I see women walking, cycling, trail running, ultra running, climbing, wild swimming and taking part in triathlons in far greater numbers. Mostly, I can only report this anecdotally but I spend a great deal of time outdoors and I meet a lot of people. I also witness a lot of outdoors participation on social media. However, I can give a couple of good examples: the Glasgow Triathlon Club, of which I am a member, has an even malefemale split; and a Facebook group for Munro baggers called Munroaming, which I founded four years ago, has a strong and growing female membership. I have also noticed many more women walking and running in the hills on their own or as part of all-female groups. One age group that appears to be less represented is from teenage to the 30s. I have often wondered what could be done to increase participation by this age group and I know there are a number of projects that aim to engage younger women in sports. Perhaps, for a number of years when females – and males! – are younger, sport doesn’t seem cool. More needs to be done to show people – both female and male – the fun side of the great outdoors and that it doesn’t need to be sweaty and grim! Another factor could be the family years when children are young. This can have an impact on what some women believe they can do in terms of their own pursuits. Men appear to have greater freedom from family life – and women are more likely to stay at home. It could be they are making a choice, rather than being denied an opportunity to head off into the hills. I have heard from some women that confidence is another issue. They don’t feel confident enough to go for an adventure. But, again, I have witnessed a shift: among my friends with children I see them spending time outdoors as a family, or the parents taking it in turns. The survey also mentions barriers to spending time outdoors, including “pink it and shrink it” clothing. This really is not the case anymore, as far as I can see. While it’s true many outdoors stores do not have equal stocks of male and female gear, there is certainly enough good quality kit for women. I had been hoping to see a survey showing a far larger percentage of women a hiking, running or mountain biking. It saddens me it does not. The bottom line is that women can do the same as men: we are all people!