CWA Blog Archive-Hiring Gender Diverse Routesetters LCO Case Study

Hiring Gender Diverse Routesetters LCO Case Study

Pdf Summary

Jess Malloy uses a case study to show how partnering with local climbing organizations can diversify a gym's routesetting team. She starts by broadening what LCOs mean to most people, who first think of outdoor-access groups, noting that some LCOs work specifically to expand the indoor climbing community. The organization at the center is Bolt and Revolt, a rapidly growing 501c3 dedicated to educating and uplifting women and non-binary people in routesetting. Its origin story is pointed. Bolt and Revolt formed in late 2022 in response to a gym event that offered a women's routesetting clinic taught by a man, an episode that crystallized a frequently ignored problem: while gym memberships include a variety of genders, routesetting opportunities remain heavily imbalanced toward men. That gap prompted Raae Lorton, owner and artist of Crag to Crux, to ask peers whether any community page or resource existed for women in routesetting, and finding none, to help build one. The article frames the imbalance as a real industry issue with real consequences for who shapes the climbing experience, since setters determine the movement and character of every route. Working with organizations like Bolt and Revolt gives gyms a pipeline to setters they might otherwise never reach, actively diversifying a team rather than waiting for representation to change on its own. Written for routesetters and upper management with setting experience, the piece explains both how and why to partner with LCOs to broaden the setting community. The throughline is that gender diversity in routesetting doesn't happen passively. Gyms that want setting teams reflecting their membership can partner with mission-driven LCOs to find, train, and uplift underrepresented setters, and Bolt and Revolt's rapid growth shows the demand and community were there all along, waiting for someone to organize them.

Asset Caption

Jess Malloy shows how partnering with local climbing organizations diversifies setting teams. Bolt and Revolt, a 501c3 uplifting women and non-binary setters, formed after a gym offered a women's setting clinic taught by a man, exposing routesetting's gender imbalance. Gyms can partner with such groups to actively broaden their setting community.