Making Space: Women in the Outdoor Industry

Victoria Beck

How can design challenge gender biases that women face in the North American Outdoor Industry?

This project looks critically into the current Outdoor Industry in North America and identifies three main areas in which women are facing barriers due to gender biases: in the workplace, resource access, and perceptions.

I am approaching these problem areas by addressing employee promotion policies and systems within the Outdoor Workplace, which perpetuate a male-dominated hierarchy. The goal is to ultimately produce more inclusive outputs for female consumers, and make space for women in the industry and the outdoors themselves.

For this exhibit, I have designed two embodied experiences which demonstrate the restrictions of female outdoor equipment in two main categories: Gear and Apparel. These interactions are meant to draw awareness in participants to the current standards of the male consumer as the design default.

Victoria’s Portfolio

Photography: Ben Bonsu
Image: Victoria Beck