Beyond Prize Money: Barriers to Gender Equity in Australian Surfing

In Australia's surfing culture, significant barriers have long impeded women's full participation and advancement in the sport. Surfing has been a male-dominated sport, with women surfers often feeling unwelcome in both competitive and recreational spaces. Through a qualitative approach involving semistructured interviews with 20 competitive Australian women surfers, our research reveals that despite recent progressive reforms, women still face systemic obstacles. Applying Bourdieu's Theory of Practice, this study examines how the structure and culture of surfing in Australia contribute to women's participation and advancement in the field. It explores the extent to which access to different forms of capital is constrained and how women's dispositions are shaped and reinforced through formal and informal settings, norms, and practices, ultimately influencing participation and sustaining persistent systemic barriers. The research uncovers the barriers in three key areas of women's surfing: structural barriers in organized surfing, including competition structures, lack of funding streams for women's development programs, and unequal sponsorship distribution; cultural barriers in informal surfing, including lack of codes of conduct in local surf spots, mentorship programs and gender-inclusive teaching methods in surf instruction; and insufficient leadership development to create pathways for women across surfing organizations, competition judging, coaching roles, and industry administration.