It's not that we do a poor job of attracting women to soaring. We do a
lousy job of attracting anyone.

So those that find their way to us are really fascinated with the idea
of flying, and of flying gliders specifically. And they have the time
and money to pursue it.

And while, as a father of two ten-year-old girls, I hope we're doing a
better job in the U.S. of raising children who are less culturally
inhibited and constrained by gender stereotypes than we were, it's
undeniable that boys still get a lot more encouragement--both subtle
and overt--to jump off tall buildings, ride their bicycles at high
rates of speed, and build scale model airplanes than do girls. As one
poster commented: when many of today's best soaring pilots were
growing up, military and commercial flying was glorified to them but
not to young women of similar backgrounds. It's not so terribly
different today.

Because soaring is an obscure sport done mostly by, let's face it,
older men, the social appeal for young women is pretty low. At the
same time, many, though by no means all, "older" women (i.e., just for
the sake of argument, say 35) are either consumed by career or family
or both. And unlike men, who--as they age--tend to accumulate money
and discretionary time, women tend to accumulate children and
husbands, husbands who expect their wives to raise the family and take
care of the house, thus affording the husbands the discretionary time
to golf, tinker with cars, fly, or whatever.

Many avid male soaring pilots complain about the lack of interest
their wives take in their flying (though I am one of the lucky ones in
that regard) even while some condescendingly speak of the many ways
they can participate...as crews or support persons. Many male pilots
fly, and even attend contests, without the support of their wives or
families. It's not perfect, but it works.

On the other hand, it's hard to imagine your average American husband
agreeing to take on all the weekend chores so his wife can spend the
day or the weekend at the gliderport. And let's not even talk about
the conflict that would ensue when she wants to spend two weeks of
her--and potentially his--vacation time at a contest!

Look at sports such as skiing, hang gliding, parachuting, soccer, or
basketball and you'll find no shortage of young women who enjoy
thrilling pursuits, high-stress endeavors, and keen competition. It's
attracting those women to soaring that's difficult, just as it is
attracting young men. I suspect when we find the answer to this second
challenge, we'll be much closer to solving the first.

Chip Bearden