Think of travel and adventure TV and you might picture David Attenborough trekking with mountain gorillas, Simon Reeve traversing a South Patagonia ice field, or Ben Fogel living new lives in the wild…
All well and good, but with a growing proliferation of men fronting travel shows with despite a distinct lack of heritage in the genre, we have to ask – where are the talented, brilliant women hosting their own shows about adventure, and inspiring others in the process?
Seeking the answer to this question is responsible small group travel company Intrepid Travel, who count women among the majority of their travellers, yet observe a barrier to women feeling “adventurous” that is perpetuated by the media.
After finding that only one in five mainstream travel TV shows feature a female presenter, but that almost two thirds of women think seeing more female representation would give them more confidence to embrace their own travel goals, Intrepid decided to take action.
We’ve been working with them to bring to life a first-of-its-kind exhibition, showcasing the untold stories of female adventurers, in a bid to give more visibility to women doing amazing things in the space, and to help close the “Adventure Gap”.
The AdventurHER exhibition features 11 incredible women, including TV presenter and journalist Louise Minchin, who has long been a trailblazer and empassioned advocate for women in adventure.
The exhibition also spotlights Kelda Wood, the first para-rower to solo row across the Atlantic, Kwesia of City Girl in Nature, a community she created to get more city dwellers to explore nature, and Alice Morrison, an adventurer and explorer who has been described as the “Indiana Jones for girls” and was the first woman to walk the Draa River in Morocco.
The media has really got behind the campaign, featuring in nationals including Metro, Daily Mirror and Daily Express, travel and lifestyle titles spanning Conde Nast Traveller, Wanderlust and Hello, listings on Secret London and Londonist, and broadcast spanning Times Radio, BBC and London Live.
