Defining Moments: An Examination of the Gender Divide in Women’s Contribution to Outdoor Education

Abstract: Throughout our collective experiences in the outdoors, defining moments have helped ignite innovation and provided inspiration for women and men in the outdoor profession. Women’s representation among the ranks of the senior leaders and researchers in the outdoor field is disproportionately low. As such, women in outdoor education today still face challenges being recognized and accessing the upper echelons of the profession and academy. An incident at the 6th International Outdoor Education Research Conference in 2013, where women donned an invisibility cloak provided the impetus for our paper. Significant progress has been made in the past three decades; however an imbalance and gender asymmetry still exists today. At the core of our profession is the development of leadership and individual potential; it is therefore imperative that we examine our indiscernible footprint within the profession. The paper aims to generate practical solutions and strategies for those grappling with ways to improve their leadership impact and attain gender equity in their career goals.