By Katelyn Catanzariti

The search for the perfect wave is eternal but the quest for gender parity in surfing still seems elusive, a report reveals.

Women surfers were equally represented at the recent Olympics and competition prize money has been made equal between genders in recent years however they are still struggling with a cultural barrier when staking a claim in the local line-up.

“There are barriers to allowing women empowerment in the water,” University of Technology Sydney Business School management lecturer Ece Kaya told AAP.

“The majority of the surfers we have talked to say ‘yes there’s been great positive change, but we still feel intimidated’.

“There is the persistence of a male-dominated culture where women often have to prove themselves to gain respect in the line-up… to then be allowed to continue surfing on that beach or in general.”

The study, Giving Voice to Women’s Experiences in Surfing in Australia, will be discussed at a panel event at university on Friday by industry experts, researchers and athletes including Olympian Tyler Wright, who has been vocal about her experiences of sexism in surfing.

The study found continuing obstacles for women included a significantly smaller women’s World Surf League field; women having fewer slots and less support in competitions compared to men; and, disparities in commercial opportunities, with male surfers still benefiting disproportionately from sponsorships and marketing.

Professional surfers aside, Dr Kaya – a bodyboarder herself – said there was a “localism” apparent at popular surf spots that prevented female amateurs from having a chance to get involved.

“The prize money inequality has been addressed at the biggest competition level but there are more challenges existing across different dimensions,” she said.

While women in sport have seen more support in recent years – for example, the swell of support behind the Matildas soccer team – Dr Kaya and her sports management colleagues have realised the culture around surfing has not changed significantly at a local club level.

Dr Kaya said the surfing community needed more women-only surfing events, more female judges, more females taking on leadership roles in the sport, more funding, more gender-inclusive teaching methods and mentoring and more grassroots-level surfing initiatives to support girls and women surfers.

“In the next five years, we’re also hoping to see more development of local surf codes of conduct to promote a more inclusive environment to address the cultural barrier a bit,” she said, adding it was taking a long time for the national message to filter down to the local surf club.

“I’m really hoping Surfing Australia’s new initiative to encourage and support women will have a strong voice in the sport to say women are empowered and can do it and are doing it already.

“Our (study) participants said that when they catch a really good wave they are told they ‘surf like a man’.

“They just want to be humans – they just want to be told ‘this person can surf’.”

Dr Kaya said change was coming.

“I see lots of dads now surfing with their daughters in the water,” she said.

“There is a shift. It’s not a changed culture, but it’s coming.”