It is not unusual for customers to approach the ski school desk and specifically request a male or a female instructor. Their reasoning is usually quite precise. “I need somebody very patient,” someone might say. “Can I have a woman?” Somebody else might comment, “I want my instructor to push me. Give me a man.” Typical case number three goes something like this: “I want a woman instructor to teach my child.”
I’m not sure the public’s general impressions about female versus male instructors is always correct, but I do know this much: Because they are perceived to be “more patient” and therefore better with young children, women instructors tend to get sentenced to a lifetime of children’s classes.
This is a source of great discontent for some, and they do something about it. Others more or less accept the role of perpetual “mother hen,” make little or no effort to improve their skiing or their teaching at upper levels, become afraid to teach adults at all, get burned out on kids and drop out of ski school. That is a shame and a waste of talent. It also explains why there seems to be a serious shortage of good female instructors.
What is worse, is how difficult it is for a woman to get fully certified. The exam process makes no concessions for being female (a policy we won’t attempt to debate here), but she has to compete on an equal footing and perform as well as male candidates. At the same time, she gets little chance to train and prepare for certification because she is always teaching kids.
When they do get to clinic with other instructors, women instructors are often intimidated. The others ski hard and fast, and the women have a tough time keeping up. High level discussions about weight transfer, sidecut and anticipation go over their heads. Their instructional phrases for kids are something like: “Make a piece of pie with your skis.” When and if they are finally confronted with an examiner, women may come close to tears if he asks her even a simple question.
It is a vicious cycle. Women can’t improve much, so they can’t get certified. If the ski school is set up so pay is based on certification level, women can’t get a raise.
Teaching children to ski takes a special person with special talents. I don’t believe women are any better at it than men. In fact, the most superb kids’ teachers I’ve known have been males. I believe that top instructors, male or female, should teach both beginners and children on a regular basis. A rotation should be set up to ensure that happens. Working with an “A” class should never be regarded as punishment or even R and R. Instructors must be encouraged to see relationships between what they are doing at the highest level, what beginners are experiencing and how children react to all kinds of skiing situations. That is the only way to become a complete ski instructor.
There is no reason why women can’t also be trained to teach classes at the uppermost levels. Yes, their skiing must be there, and yes, they will have to establish credibility from time to time, particularly when that male character meets them for a private lesson and asks: “You’re going to teach me?” Ski school directors need to take the time to teach women instructors how to deal with those situations.
Women ski instructors are patient, as are many men who teach skiing. In addition, I find that many women don’t simply memorize technical concepts, as do some of their ambitious male counterparts who are anxious to get certification out of the way and go on to other things. Instead, they strive to understand and incorporate sound techniques into their own skiing. This often results in a nice way of passing what they have learned on to their customers. Those who have learned most vividly are frequently the greatest teachers.
In ski schools where women are given equal opportunity, the director might track repeat private lesson business. I think you will find, on the average, that people request women instructors about five percent more frequently than they do men who have instructed them previously.
Far more men apply for ski instructor positions than women, and those women who do try out for a ski school often have difficulty being accepted. I think that is bad for business. The ideal ski school staff, in my opinion, is at least 35 to 40 percent female.
If you have trouble finding female instructors, advertise for them, recruit them and train the ones you’ve got just as thoroughly as you train the men. Let the best ones become clinicians and supervisors when they are qualified. The best ski school supervisor I know—the one who handles people, problems and instructors better than any other—is a woman.
*Stu Campbell is Director of Skier Services, Heavenly Valley, California.*
