((TITLE)) Women Scuba Divers
((TRT: 06:30))

((Reporter/Camera/Editor/Producer: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Coiba National Park, Panama))
((Main characters: 1 female; 0 male))

((Sub characters: 4 female; 0 male))
((Blurb: A scuba diving instructor Maira Thomas wanted to involve more women in the sport, so several years ago she started ScubaMAR Maids, an online community of women, who travel and dive together. We join them in their trip to Panama.))
((NATS))
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
Some people say that it’s very challenging for women to carry tanks, and that’s why we don’t get hired at dive shops a lot, but this is how you do it. You put one on your shoulder and you just bring the other one along with you. Let’s go diving.
Well, I started diving 2008, so I would say 2009 and [20]10 is when I was a divemaster. There were not a lot of female instructors or divemasters working.
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
We just need to start thinking a little bit more about how to teach women, you know, how to incorporate some of the knowledge and skills specifically to women.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
Raise your hand whoever thinks that navigation is a challenge. Okay, good. For us women, we have trouble [with] navigation in general. It’s harder to understand underwater navigation. And the navigation in the ocean requires a little more awareness and multitasking, which we're great at, you know. Women, naturally, we're great at multitasking and we're very aware of our surroundings.
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
Spend more time on the skills that may be more difficult to them, and also be a little bit more caring, because I feel like women need a little bit more care, and that is like an emotional connection that you make. And I feel like that’s a better learning experience.
((NATS))
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
This is it. We’re going to be diving Buffet. So Buffet is the name of the dive site because we have so many different types of fish, which makes it a lot of fun.
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
Ready?
((Women divers))
Ready.
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
Let’s do it.
((NATS))
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
I started the business. It's called Mar Hosted Trips. M-A-R Hosted trips. So, M-A-R is my initials, and it also means ocean in Spanish. It started because I was working in Dallas in a dive shop, and I realized there was a lot of females, solo females, that came to the shop asking for equipment, and they all had the same story. Everybody was like, "I don't have anybody to go diving with.", "I love scuba diving, but my friends don't dive.", "I'm scared to go by myself." I invited everyone that I knew, and I had 80, 80 people in the community, and I was pretty happy with that. Yeah. Now, we're at 4,500.
((NATS))
((Stephanie Benjamin
Scuba Diver))
I’ve been a police officer for about 12 years. My job is so stressful. After a while, you know, my stress level is here, and I have to manage that somehow. And when I come on these trips, scuba diving is so calming. Being in the ocean is so chill. You just go down there. You hang out with a turtle. You breathe. You don’t have to talk to anybody. You’re like, "Wow, look at all these fishes." It's like traveling to Mars. It's wild. It's wild. Like, I'm with a shark. There's nothing better than that.
((NATS))
((Lauren Green
Scuba Diver))
When people meet me in public. So, I was at a baby shower a couple weeks ago, and my cousin introduced me to a young lady, and she was surprised that I was a Black diver but also a woman diver as well. And she’s like, "This is rare. I’ve never met a Black woman scubadiver." So that’s always a good feeling. I’m a building substitute at a school, at an elementary school. And so the kids, it’s a really good conversation starter for them. My favorite thing is like, “Did you get eaten by a shark?” And I was like, "I’m standing right here. Obviously, I am still alive."
((NATS))
((Lauren Green
Scuba Diver))
I think for me, the opportunity to show other young Black women, like, "Hey, I'm diving. I'm a Black woman that dives. You could do this too." Like, "Don’t be afraid." It’s a very male dominated industry. And so I want them to know that you can do the same thing. All you have to do is to put in the work, put in the time, obtain the knowledge, but not to be afraid to do something that is not typical for your community.
((NATS))
((Gayle Cole
Scuba Diver))
I’m 61. I got certified in February of 2022, so not very long ago. I have to really work to stay in shape because you have to be fit to dive. You have to be able to climb back on a boat, sometimes in six-foot seas with 50 pounds on your back. And I’ve had to do that.
((NATS))
((Gayle Cole
Scuba Diver))
I believe, with my whole heart, that how old you are is chronological and you can’t change the year that you were born. “Old” is psychological. And in my head, I am about 35 [years old]. So, I could be diving for another 35 years.
((NATS))
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
I think it empowers them a lot. I feel when we’re together, I feel like we’re stronger together. We connect. We bond. And I feel like female communities, not only scuba diving, scuba diving is our passion, that’s what gets us together, but the female communities, I think, are very important.
((NATS))
((Maira Thomas
Scuba Diving Instructor))
That’s why my logo is pink, because it’s a color that tells you that it’s okay to be a woman, you know. You can wear pink proudly. You can be a woman and be a bad ass, basically.
((NATS))

((Animation))