TRAINING
Women in Diving: How Leadership Strengthens Safety & Growth By Burcu Mahmutoğlu , PADI IDC Staff Instructor, Dive Cypria, Cyprus
R EDEFINING LEADERSHIP UNDERWATER Under the surface of our blue planet, leadership matters just as much as buoyancy control. When we talk about women in diving leadership, we are not asking for a quota. We are calling for a transformation. Representation is not a trend. It is safety, belonging, and excellence. Leadership underwater is not only about who holds the in- structor tag. It is about who sets the tone on the boat, who creates the safe space, who reassures the nervous diver, and who designs programs that fit every body, not just one kind. My Story: When I Was Told “That’s Enough for You.” After earning my instructor rating, I was told: “You should stay in the ▪ office, not teach in the water.” “If you dive, stay in the confined waters of Green Bay. ▪ That is more than enough for you.” “Your body is ruined now that you have given birth. It ages you ten years and it is irreversible.” Younger male instructors, some with less experience, were allowed to lead dives I was deemed unfit for. Owners listened to their ideas, even when those ideas were mine. But I turned it into fuel. I retrained myself, reread dive medicine papers, and studied how diving affects women’s phys- iology at different life stages. I watched women and men I admired, and one truth surfaced: misogyny might be incurable, but lack of knowledge and skill can be fixed. So I kept showing up. I kept getting better. Quality became my signature, and when your signature is strong, it becomes impossible to ignore. The Data Beneath the Surface Of course, I doubted myself. When the people we see as masters tell us we are not enough, the doubt does not stay at the surface. It sinks in.
The numbers tell the same story across continents: progress, but painfully slow. Globally, women make up about 39 to 40 percent of recre- ational divers, yet only 20 percent of instructors hold teaching status ( PADI Ten-Year Impact Report, 2025 ). In Europe, women represent 37 percent of new certifications but less than 18 percent of professionals, a lower ratio than in Asia or Oceania ( PADI Women in Diving Initiative, 2025 ). The Girls That Scuba Diversity Survey (2024) found that 44 percent of women divers considered going pro but decided “it was not for them,” citing lack of mentorship, unequal pay, and poorly designed gear. promotions despite identical safety and performance records. The Council of Europe Gender Equality in Sport Report (2023) showed women hold only 14 percent of leadership roles in European sport federations, a pattern mirrored in diving’s instructor hierarchies. Whether in Norway, Cyprus, or California, the deeper you go into leadership, the fewer women you find . Why Representation Matters Representation is not symbolic. It is a safety feature. A Norwegian study in the Undersea and Hyperbaric Med- icine Journal (2017) found fe- male professional divers report- ed more exclusion and fewer
Families report greater trust when a female instructor is present during youth scuba programs. Research by the Council of Europe (2023) shows that mixed- gender supervision in sports significantly reduces anxiety among minors and par- ents. For solo female travelers, the presence of women in professional roles directly
influences booking decisions. PADI’s Business of Women in Diving Report (2024) found that 68 percent of women divers prefer dive centers with at least one female instructor on staff. Inclusivity is not niche. It is an untapped market. What Works: Practical Inclusion Inclusivity in diving does not happen by accident. It takes
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