#GAReads | The Wonder Women of Botswana Safari

An impala herd in Chobe National Park. Photo credit: Bgabel at wikivoyage shared [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

"The Wonder Women of Botswana Safari":

The guides at Chobe Game Lodge are breaking gender norms, according to Botswana experts. “As safari guides, they are pushing several boundaries that circumscribed women in the past,” said Deborah Durham, an anthropologist at Sweet Briar College who has conducted research on the country since 1986. “From soon after its independence from Great Britain, Botswana has recognized the talent and potential of women.”

The decision to employ exclusively women grew organically out of something very practical: the bottom line. Back when the guide team was coed, the managers quickly noticed a pattern: Vehicles driven by women used less gas, required fewer repairs and lasted longer over time. Simply put, the women were better drivers. They were saving the company money.

Read Hillary Richard's full article at The New York Times here…

H/T to Ron Glantz for this story!