Guiding in Alaska is a dream of many in the outdoor industry, its wilderness calling to lovers of the mountains and the water alike. Having lived in Alaska for a season before, I jumped on the opportunity to go back and guide, this time in Southeast Alaska, a region I was excited to explore for a season. My job would have me working adjacent to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, teaching people about climate change, and canoeing almost every day.

My name is Halle, and I work as a full-time, multi-sport adventure guide. This is my real life experience with working in the paddle sports industry as a woman, and what we can do about it.

I began my season as a canoe guide in April of 2024 and within 24 hours of showing up, I was on the water, training, and learning everything I needed to know to safely guide people across Mendenhall Lake throughout the summer. We paddled 6-12 miles a day, learned the most efficient ways to skip a 29-foot canoe, and most importantly, learned the routes we would take across the lake, depending on the weather, and the presence of katabatic winds: high density winds traveling downhill, and on Mendenhall, winds specifically caused by glacial melt that can gust 40-50 miles per hour. This was not going to be just any guide job, but I was proud to be here. As a wilderness first responder and outdoor educator, I was stoked to be taking people outdoors in a way that would likely be new to them, and being able to provide a safe way to do so. As a climate activist, I was honored to be working amongst glaciers, hoping to get the chance to have some meaningful conversations about climate change throughout the summer.

My coworkers were incredible from the start. We had a mostly female staff with a mostly female leadership team. I was proud to be guiding for them, as this hadn’t necessarily been the case in previous summer positions. The men at our company were incredibly supportive, trying their best to help us feel like we belonged on the water next to them as equals. But despite the heavy emphasis on training, despite the supportive work environment, it was very obvious very quickly, that clients did not see every member of our staff in the same light.

(I‘d like to recognize that it was a privilege to have supportive male coworkers and that this is not everyone’s experience in the industry.)

Confidence in female guides

Within my first week as a canoe guide, I was questioned about my knowledge of glaciers, the Tongass National Forest, and canoes as a concept. Things that I had been reading about and studying for months prior to starting this specific job, which built heavily on my previous naturalist position in the Pacific Northwest. My male coworkers did not experience this same pushback. Throughout the season, I was consistently questioned about whether I knew the route or had a plan for where we were going. I had men actually tell me we were going the wrong way more than once, despite them having never been on the lake before. Male clients frequently re-explain concepts my female co-guides and I had just explained. I was told to “keep studying,” when I finished answering a question about glaciers. My best friend at the company was told she would “make a good wife” when she was seen moving our 400+ pound boat. When these comments did happen in front of male co-guides, we invited them to step in and stand up for us. Sometimes, they did, but the women on the water were growing increasingly frustrated with the fact that we had to ask the men to do this at all. Oftentimes, the misogynistic comments only stopped when the men asked them to, not when we did.

Microaggressions were a more complicated thing to witness. The male guides generally did not notice when male clients started to “help” when not asked to (which was often unsafe or unnecessary—our women were some of the strongest people I’ve ever met). Only one guide was sent to pick up clients at the start of the day, and many of the women I worked with complained about being asked whether they were “just the driver.” These comments and actions wore on us as the season went on. We desperately wanted to be seen as a guide first, a professional first, an expert in our field first, and a woman second. We didn’t want clients’ predisposed ideas of us or our capabilities to jeopardize their trust in us to keep them safe. 

I think it’s important to mention that I have worked for many years in the outdoor industry, mostly in uphill mountain sports and backcountry settings, and I can only name one instance from any previous guide position where I was told that a client would rather be with a male guide than me. One instance, over 3 years, versus an almost daily encounter with these comments in one summer. I also guided hikes for the same company in Alaska that I guided canoe trips for, and I rarely had the same comments pop up on the trail as I did on the water. My female co-guides and I had conversations throughout the summer, unsure of how to respond or what we could do. It wasn’t a one-off occurrence – it wasn’t just a couple of us, or a specific cruise ship the clients came off of, or anything telling. We all experienced some level of sexism throughout our summer. I don’t know if it was the location, the clientele, or the paddle sports industry as a whole, but this concerns me, as a woman who intends to continue working in the outdoor industry for many years. 

Taking action

Women on the water deserve to be treated with the same respect as our male counterparts. Working in the outdoor industry is an incredibly empowering experience, and we deserve to feel that empowerment more often than we feel frustration. So, how can we combat sexism in the paddle sports industry? 

I think it’s important to note that I don’t have one proven solution. I’m just a guide who’s extremely passionate about female empowerment in the outdoors and I want women who love the water to be able to work in this industry – pain-free. 

The first thing we can all do is talk to our employers. Not every company is going to have a mostly female staff, but some supervisors may have different policies for you to be aware of as a guide. I’ve worked for companies that have zero-tolerance policies for discrimination. This allows guides to end a trip if they are met with or witness derogatory comments from a client. Sometimes, however, I know this can be a vulnerable position to be in as a guide, and it might feel easier to stay in the field as long as your safety isn’t at risk. If that’s the case, I think it’s important to know the language you can use, stand up for yourself, and be assertive. Many times, when met with unneeded help or unwanted comments, we were able to reclaim our authority by stating loudly that we didn’t need help with certain tasks, and emphasizing to clients that they were on vacation. While this doesn’t stop the comments and microaggressions, it does set boundaries. Small actions are better than silence.

We have a lot of work to do to assert our space in the paddle sports industry. Canoeing and many other sports that take place on our waterways are not as common sports. People are unfamiliar with what goes into them, especially on the professional guide level. The more women there are on the water, the better, as it shows that we deserve to take up space in our boats. 

Forming community is also a crucial step. Making sure that we all feel supported, and that women who want to learn paddle sports have supportive female guides who can teach them in a non-intimidating way. The water should be a welcome space for everyone, and it’s about time we open this conversation up further so that more women feel empowered to get out there, to teach, to guide, because the water is a powerful place to exist.

I think, more than anything, the most important thing we can do, is guide. Getting on the water professionally is a statement in and of itself. Creating pathways for women of future generations and our own to be recognized as important professionals in paddle sports. We reserve the right to take up space, to show up, to paddle, and there is no better way to show that we belong here, than simply showing up, loving the water, and paddling together.

Halle’s professional experience

At Girl Paddlers, our mission is to empower and elevate women in the world of paddling by sharing stories, experiences, and insights that inspire our community. You can learn more about Halle’s professional guide experience in, In Cold Water: Canoe Guiding in Alaska as a Girl Paddler, part 1 of this 3-part guest series.

Written by: Halle Homel