WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN?

Wildlife photography has long been a field dominated by men. It’s time we encouraged more women to pick up a camera.

- MELISSA GROO

LOOKING THROUGH THE WINNERS OF the Natural History Museum's prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) contest last year, I was struck by just how few were female. But should I really have been that surprised? There has, after all, been a long-standing asymmetry between men and women in wildlife photography. As an article on the Natural History Museum’s website states, “The number of female WPY entrants and winners is representative of the amount of women working in wildlife photography.”

The reasons for this imbalance are myriad, as are the opinions on it. Some claim inherent bias. Others feel that women lack one or all of the qualities required to get ahead in this field, qualities traditionally associated with men: competitiveness, assertiveness, technical know-how, physical strength, fearlessness. And, historically at least, women who enter motherhood often become more homebound than fathers.

So what’s really going on? Why aren’t there more female wildlife photographers? And, crucially, is change on the horizon?

For a wildlife photographer, an award in the WPY contest can mean a significant career boost. Yet in the competition’s 57 years, women have won the overall title only four times (and one shared it with her partner). In the 2020 contest, among the adults, Jennifer Hayes was the only female to win an overall category (Oceans), of a total of 16 categories.