Diana Nyad arrives at the photo studio for our May cover shoot like a house on fire, engaging everyone in her high-speed positive energy. Mira Rai walks in with the names of each 颅cover subject written on her hand, to be sure that she meets them all. And , a mountain guide, is鈥攆ittingly鈥攄elayed by a snowstorm.
The XX Factor Issue
Our special issue highlights the athletes, activists, and icons who have shaped the outside world. Ten women, from athletes to activists, based all over the world, gathered in Los Angeles for our May shoot. There were 40 others on set to capture the stunning image, including 国产吃瓜黑料 creative team Hannah McCaughey听and Amy Silverman, photographer Annabel Mehran, and producers and stylists. The schedule was so complicated that it looked like computer code. But spending time with our cover subjects was awe-inspiring.
There鈥檚 never been a more apt time to shine a light on women in the outdoors. We make up 51 percent of outdoor consumers and half the annual 160 million adventure travelers. We are accomplished athletes pushing the limits of what鈥檚 possible鈥攁nd increasingly beating men. We are the future of adventure, as you鈥檒l see in our story about the Girl Scouts and their 1.8 million young members. And we are only growing stronger.
But let鈥檚 be honest: the outdoor industry听still has a long way to go before women are represented equally. According to a 2012 study by the women鈥檚 advocacy group Camber Outdoors, just 12.5 percent of outdoor companies with sales over $20 million have female CEOs. (New research is 颅being conducted this year, but there鈥檚 no expectation that the numbers will change much.) Women make up only 37 percent of National Park Service employees. And in an online survey we conducted, a mere 13 percent of participants knew the name of the first woman up Mount Everest鈥Junko Tabei, a Japanese climber who summited on May 16, 1975. It鈥檚 past time for this to change.
I鈥檒l be the first to admit that 国产吃瓜黑料 can do a much better job covering women. It鈥檚 something we discuss often, and every month we read letters from subscribers asking about it, like this recent one from Tanya Kitterman in Bellingham, Washington: 鈥淚 just pulled the latest issue out of my mailbox, and there is yet another dude staring at me. I鈥檓 wondering when I鈥檓 ever 颅going to see a woman on the cover of 国产吃瓜黑料. What gives?鈥
This issue is our answer. Not only do we have ten women on the cover, we went all in throughout the magazine. And we do mean all in. Every single contributor this month听is a woman. Some of them are new to us鈥攍ike writer Rahawa Haile and photographer Annabel Mehran鈥攁nd many have been with us for years, like Florence Williams, Katie Arnold, and Stephanie Pearson. Our editor, Christopher Keyes, stepped aside so I could take the reins this month.
A critically important partner in making it possible was REI, who is 颅using this issue to launch its women-focused 听campaign. REI鈥檚 bold message, along with its company-wide commitment and multiple initiatives speaking to women, is setting a powerful example for the rest of the industry.
We鈥檙e unrolling other exciting women-focused projects as well, including a podcast series hosted by Florence听Williams, an online gallery of听40 must-know women to cel颅e颅brate our 40th anniversary this year, and an Outlook episode on 国产吃瓜黑料 Television about Melissa Arnot Reid. Meanwhile, Tanya, we are listening: we鈥檙e committed to providing more great women鈥檚 coverage in future issues, too. When 国产吃瓜黑料 was founded in 1977, it was about living an active, adventurous life, not about a gender. Like the outdoors, this magazine is a place for us all.
Back in Los Angeles that day, when the cover shoot starts running a little long, Diana Nyad grabs a bugle out of her bag and 颅begins playing 鈥淩eveille,鈥 the military鈥檚 morning wake-up call. The room erupts into laughter. As I look around at the 颅women gathered, I feel a huge wave of admiration for their courage and accomplishments, as well as a profound optimism for the future. I hope all our readers, men and women, will feel the same after reading this issue.听