TRAINING continued
deliberate decisions and sometimes going against well-meaning advice. 1. Invest in fit and comfort When I set up my dive center, I decided that comfort and
Inclusivity is also about how we speak, during briefings, in the classroom, and on the boat. Calm, respectful communication can transform a nervous diver’s experience. Using people’s chosen names, checking comfort before depth, and treating every diver as an equal are not small details.
dignity would not be op- tional. I invested in women- cut wetsuits and carried sizes from 3XS to 4XL, even when others said it was unnecessary. Three years later, the re- sults speak for themselves.
That is professionalism at its most human, and it is where true safety begins. A Message to Women in Diving Keep improving. Keep
Many of my repeat guests, particularly women who had pre- viously felt excluded from diving because of their body size, now recommend both me and the brands I stock. Plus-size women’s dive communities share these experiences widely. That kind of endorsement cannot be bought. It came because I chose to be inclusive, not performative. The CBI EU Dive Tourism Report (2023) confirms what I see every day: dive centers that invest in fit and accessibility see 12 to 17 percent higher repeat bookings. 2. Be visible and clear about your values From the start, every listing and advertisement for Dive Cypria proudly states: Women-owned. Women-led. LGBTQ+ and trans safe. Neu- rodivergent friendly. Trauma-informed. Those words reflect who I am and what I stand for. Some
showing up. You cannot always change bias, but you can become so competent that bias collapses under its own weight. Never apologize for being a woman. It gives you a unique lens to understand half of humanity. Families, solo divers, and younger students often trust female leadership because it signals empathy and safety. Every body deserves gear that fits. Every diver deserves to be seen. A Call to the Industry To dive center owners, course directors, and training agencies: if you are serious about safety, retention, and growth, you must be serious about diversity. Inclusive leadership is not a moral luxury. It is operational excellence. As Divernet reported in 2024, the rise in female participation
warned that it might deter male clients. It did not. Instead, it attracted first-time divers, repeat guests from abroad, and people who said they chose us because we were authen- tically different. When guests tell me why they booked, they often say, “Because you looked like a safe space, and you said it out loud.” 3. Support flexible leadership
directly correlates with better diver re- tention, safety, and community devel- opment. The ocean itself does not discriminate. The industry should not either. Buoyancy works through balance, our leadership should too. Final Thoughts If you are a woman diver doubting your place, trust me, I have been there. I heard, “That is enough for you.”
Inclusivity also means removing invisible barriers. I introduced paid child-care options for single-parent families, allowing them to train or dive without worry. The outcome? Families who return year after year. Divers who can focus on their experience knowing their children are safe. A reputation that extends far beyond our coastline. It brought more revenue and more loyalty than any campaign about “how good our diving is,” because while skills bring people in, safety and belonging bring them back. 4. Train for inclusive communication
I made it not enough for me. Now, every time I descend, I carry that sentence with me, not as a wound but as ballast turned into buoyancy. Let us reimagine leadership. Let us make excellence the standard, inclusion the culture, and representation the norm.
The next generation of divers is already watching. Let us show them what leadership looks like when everybody belongs.
email Burcu
PAGE THIRTEEN | SCUBA DIVING INDUSTRY
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker