EDI and the outdoors: has the rock climbing community become more or less equitable, diverse, or inclusive?

Rock climbing communities have been dominated by white, middle class men. While more diverse peoples now flock to crags, cracks, and mountainsides, a question arises: does the growing number of climbers equate to more diversity and inclusion in climbing communities? Interest in and accessibility of rock climbing has increased since the 1990s, but it is unclear if this popularity corresponded with an increase in the inclusion of groups other than white men. In this research project, I ask “how has the rock climbing community become more or less equitable, diverse, or inclusive?” I conducted a literature review of academic and non-academic writing about rock climbing, finding 17 articles and 1 book that consider issues and interactions in the climbing community regarding the topics of sex, gender, race, equality and feminism. These selected articles address issues in rock climbing such as racist and sexist route naming, male dominated communities, the high ratio of white people to Black, Indigenous & people of color (BIPOC) individuals in these spaces, as well as gender and sexual representation and diversity within the rock climbing community. In this thesis, I will outline my findings, the overlaps in current research, gaps in the literature as well as recommendations for future actions.In this thesis, it becomes clear that there is a distinct lack of equity diversity and inclusion in the rock climbing community for women, queer folks, Black and Indigenous climbers. More needs to be done overall to highlight the work of marginalized communities in the outdoors, as well as more literature written by, instead of about, these same communities.