Why are more men into sailing than women?

[Emoyeni]

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd be curious to read your thoughts regarding this short and simple question!

[Chotu]

Same as for other technical, lesser comfort, not as homey endeavors.

They just aren’t.

I find it crazy that gen z wants to force a gender neutral life on everyone. It’s hard to force men into being daycare workers and hard to force women into being into sailing or any number of other things.

Hormones are real. Hormones do influence our thought processes and feelings. There ARE differences between men and women.

Women like boats if you make sure the boat tickles their important feelings just as it does yours. Ie: you’re not going round the world in a 27’ boat with her unless you’re both 18 and she’s a very adventurous person.

Of course there are exceptions to every generalization, but estrogen is basically why women aren’t as into boats or other toys like these.

[Hudson Force]

It's always a risk to assign sexist behaviors, but I'll take the chance.

There is a common observation that the females of many species establish a "nest" or exhibit characteristics to provide a safe and stable environment for offspring, while the males of the species are more likely to travel to new communities and take the role, by their wanderings, to increase genetic diversity.

I always tend to include human behavior to be aligned with general animal behavior; however, I always welcome alternatives.

[Mike OReilly]

The answer to this question is likely similar to the sex segregation we see throughout human societies. It's a combination of genetic and evolutionary history, now greatly influenced by culture and social tradition.

My observation is, like many sectors of society, the explicit and implicit barriers are breaking down. I observe and believe that more women are involved in sailing and cruising than in the past, but it is still a male-dominated activity.

Interestingly, I find that most cruisers are cruising couples, so once you get away from the dock, the differences become less significant.

[thinwater]

I'd probably start with why aren't more people interested in sailing (not owning a boat --actually sailing, which is a much smaller number), climbing, or any of a long list of minor interested activities. A whole lot more people stay home, go fishing, or play golf. Most have no activity for which they have a passion. They may have some hobbies. I don't know. Who am I to say?


Why are you not addicted to rock climbing, for example? I could make the case for how it is fun and rewarding, and you think it odd and not be interested. Same thing, I imagine. Example. Gym climbing has made climbing FAR more accessible, even to the point of being a fad, but if you go out in the mountains, the numbers have not changed, and in many traditional areas they have declined. I could offer suggestions, but basically, they do other stuff.

[psk125]

There are plenty of boats that are quite nest-like, so that idea doesn't seem to fit. There are plenty of women roughing it on campgrounds worldwide, too, and not taking Cadillacs to get to their next campsite, either. Are boats more technical than baking a good loaf of bread in an oven that has 20 different settings? Not necessarily. Or have men turned boats into treehouses with "no girlz allowed" signs out front? After watching women outperform men on the recent Vendée Globe race - sailing singlehanded around the world from November to February - could it be that society teaches women that they're not supposed to like sailboats, and they develop other interests? Society does seem to be evolving, however.

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Same as for other technical, lesser comfort, not as homey endeavors.

They just aren’t.

I find it crazy that gen z wants to force a gender neutral life on everyone. It’s hard to force men into being daycare workers and hard to force women into being into sailing or any number of other things.

Hormones are real. Hormones do influence our thought processes and feelings. There ARE differences between men and women.

Women like boats if you make sure the boat tickles their important feelings just as it does yours. Ie: you’re not going round the world in a 27’ boat with her unless you’re both 18 and she’s a very adventurous person.

Of course there are exceptions to every generalization, but estrogen is basically why women aren’t as into boats or other toys like these.

Sounds like your a realist.

[Joh.Ghurt]

My explanation: You can't discuss with the wind and the sea doesn't care about your feelings

[geoleo]

Most women would rather chat about the color of dresses and shoe styles other women are wearing than do most anything else.lol

[Lake-Effect]

Nowadays, we know there's no real physiological or psychological reason why women would be less capable at or interested in sailing than men.

There's a "tradition" of sailing being a guy thing...

But you're all missing the real reasons: time and money. Women have less free time than men, and on average they're paid less than men.

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Women have less free time than men, [...]

Also women have less incentives to get away from home to have some peace and time to themselves.

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by Emoyeni

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd be curious to read your thoughts regarding this short and simple question!

I have a plan to even things up. Every other day I will declare my self a woman. On those days I demand that I be called 'they'. (or is it them).? lol

[Ded reckoner]

I thought it was cool that there were three women in this year's Vendee Globe. That's one tough race. Four years ago, no women competed. This time, Clarisse Cremer almost finished in the top ten, within which lofty status she resided much of the race.

My wife's two cents is this type of role modeling will go a long way to sparking interest. Sailing has a lot of systems and whether it's mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, plumbing, software related, or other, most women likely didn't grow up doing or learning about these things. Not having rebuilt car engines, redone wiring, installed appliances, repaired plumbing, or downloaded new software or firmware growing up means this can be intimidating. Along these lines, my wife earned a physics degree and was the only woman in the graduating class of twelve. I think the proportion of women in mechanical engineering classes is higher, but I don't think it's nearly equal to men. I think it's a similar situation for women in software development.

Another thing we've talked about is the need for men to teach their wives, sisters, daughters, and female friends how to do everything. Learning basic skills and accumulating an increasing skillset engenders confidence because of accomplishment. My experience is it helps all the things I do when I have a competent person to help me when needed. And, I sleep well when it's her watch, because I have confidence in her abilities and skills.

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by Ded reckoner

I thought it was cool that there were three women in this year's Vendee Globe.

There were 6, not 3. Isabelle Joschke, Clariss Cremer, Sam Davis, Pip Hare (my personal hero), Alexia Barrier and Miranda Merron. Half of them finished.

Originally Posted by Ded reckoner

Another thing we've talked about is the need for men to teach their wives, sisters, daughters, and female friends how to do everything.

So you think the problem is that we men don't force women enough to do things they don't care about?

Interestingly enough, in the most liberal, egalitarian and feminist societies, women choose more often the traditional female occupations instead of going into male domains.

If most women don't care to sail, so be it. They have the chance to do it if they want to and they have the freedom not to bother.

[boatman61]

I don't know.. Dame Ellen MacArthur was an awesome Ambassador for sailing but there was no major take up despite her efforts and once she had achieved her ambitions she's not set foot on a boat again.. Been there, done that..
To be honest I think sailing is an outlier occupation/sport that requires a certain level of masochism which is also a largely male dominated excercise that women are not naturally into without inducement in one form or another..
Lone women sailors are out there just not in the same numbers as men and as for couples, maybe that's more a case of 'tolerate it for a while till he gets it out of his system' unless it's more of a Dock Queen lifestyle and completely the opposite to the Cates or the Pardys who make that rare combination in the sailing world.