Women in the Outdoors: Numbers on the Rise

By Southwick Associates

            The traditional image of men escaping for the weekend to experience the thrill and challenge of outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing and shooting may be as antiquated as the gender make-up in the boardroom in scenes from television’s Mad Men. Annie it seems has definitely got her gun, and hunting license and fishing rod and reel. In fact, according to Women in the Outdoors in 2012, an in-depth report on women’s participation in outdoor recreation compiled by Southwick Associates, women now make up more than a quarter of all anglers and represent the fastest growing segment within the hunting and shooting communities making up as much as nearly 11 percent of all hunters.

“Many people may be surprised to learn the traditional view of the outdoors person is changing, but to anybody who hunts, fishes and shoots, the presence of women on the water, in the woods and at the range is anything but new, and certainly not surprising,” says Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates.

The Women in the Outdoors in 2012 report is a comprehensive snapshot of women’s participation in outdoor sports ever published. It examines the level and rate of participation of females in freshwater and saltwater fishing, hunting and shooting and compares women and men’s purchasing habits for hunting, shooting and fishing equipment. It also offers a unique glimpse at their outdoor media consumption, providing invaluable insight to advertisers, manufacturers and retailers into where today’s outdoorswoman gets most of the information that affects her purchasing decisions.

Southwick Associates utilizes proprietary market data from their own research combined with the most recent and reliable data from key government sources to compile the report.

While the decision-guiding data found in most Southwick Associates market reports are available for sale, the company is making the Women in the Outdoors in 2012 report available athttp://www.southwickassociates.com/portfolio-view/women-in-the-outdoors-in-2012/