Feminising the Outdoors: Women and Adventure Recreation Leadership

Leadership of adventure recreation has been described by many authors as traditionally masculine in attitude and practice. Major changes, however, have occurred in the adventure recreation industry over the past decade. Perhaps one of the most noticeable changes is the increasing number of women entering the industry, not only as participants, but also as leaders of adventure recreation experiences. This paper discusses women’s involvement in adventure recreation and, in particular, explores the leadership experiences of ten women working in adventure recreation in Western Australia. These women perceive their approach to leading adventure experiences to be very different from the approach of many of their male colleagues. Most of these differences appear to be related to personal relationships and social environments that develop during adventure recreation programs. The paper concludes with some views on the importance of changing stereotypical attitudes to adventure recreation, to women in the ‘outdoors’ and their ability as effective adventure recreation leaders.