WOMEN’S DIVE DAY 2018
PADI Women’s Dive Day is upon us! This year, on Saturday July 21, we celebrate the 4th annual PADI Women’s Dive Day. Divers from 85 countries and 6 continents gather today for a day of fun, to honor women in diving and celebrate divers around the world! On this day, PADI encourages females from around world to join together and inspire more women to experience how diving can empower them and transform their lives.
This day has become the largest celebration in diving, and it is well deserved. What was once a completely male-dominated sport, now 40% of divers worldwide are women. This is truly an accomplishment to celebrate! At one time, women were not considered suitable for diving. Extreme sports were not considered feminine. Women like Dr. Sylvia Earle, Zale Perry, and Valerie Taylor, paved the way for us and inspired so many other women to go where only men had gone before. Now, women are making a name for themselves and pushing boundaries in this sport we all love. The industry is filled with female photographers, technical divers, marine scientists, and dive professionals.
Women are some of the most impressive divers. Honestly, we are more suited for the underwater world than our male counterparts. Here are just a few reasons why:
- Better air consumption. Being typical smaller than men, with smaller lung capacity, we can extend our dives longer.
- Safer and more conscious divers. Women tend to be less reckless and more conservative divers.
- Greater attention to detail and ability to multitask (sorry guys). Women tend to learn and master buoyancy more easily.
Simply put…we were made for this.
Over the last decade the dive industry has become more accessible and comfortable for women to join. While there is still a gender gap in this sport, it is closing each year. So, how has the dive industry shifted from being exclusively male-centric?
- More women continue to get certified each year. A few years ago, having one female in a large dive class was very common. Now females are making up more than 35% of certifications worldwide.
- More women are dive professionals and shop staff, providing necessary insight and support for female customers and new divers.
- It has become more acceptable for women to travel on their own and be more independent.
- More brands are making more female specific gear. We have different equipment needs than men and continue to answer!
More and more woman are joining this underwater adventure. That is a beautiful thing. While the gap is closing, getting more women involved will help us make bigger waves in this industry.
We have a huge place in the scuba world. We are growing and strong. Let’s continue to encourage other women to dive and empower each other. As women, we are students, wives, mothers, partners, sisters, friends, travelers, adventurers, but especially on this PADI Women’s Dive Day…we are DIVERS!
Join us for this year’s PADI Women’s Dive Day. Come out and join the NLS crew for a day full of diving, grilling and chilling. We’ll also be raffling off an Aqualung i750T computer. All participating women will receive a swag bag with their rental gear for the day. Call the shop to reserve your gear and swag! https://www.facebook.com/events/631403980560566/