Special to SURFER from Tanja Piha, chair of the Finnish Surfing Association and the only woman currently leading a national surfing federation.
Inside the United Nations headquarters, far from any coastline, a different kind of lineup was being discussed. Surfing is often held up as one of the world’s most free and inclusive sports. Out in the ocean, the conditions are the same for everyone. Waves don’t discriminate. In the lineup, at least in theory, everyone has a shot.
But beyond the waterline, the picture looks different. At the UN Commission on the Status of Women, a side event titled “The Only Woman in the Lineup: Breaking Waves, Breaking Barriers” brought surfing into a much larger conversation about power, leadership, and who gets to shape the future of sport. The session was co-organized by Finnish surfing federation leader Tanja Piha, Surfer Editor-in-Chief Jake Howard and Australian surf activist Lucy Small.
“Surfing may look equal in the ocean, but equality in the lineup doesn’t automatically mean equality in leadership,” Piha said. “Women are visible in the water—but far fewer are visible where decisions are made.”
That gap isn’t abstract. It’s personal.
“I did not realize I was the only woman leading a national surfing federation,” Piha said. “I did not start the journey to be the only woman. But the fact that I am highlights how much work still remains in sports leadership.”
Surfing has made significant progress. Equal prize money has been one of the sport’s defining milestones, helping set a standard for gender equality across professional athletics. But equal pay is only part of the equation.
“Equality is not just about prize money, it’s about who sits at the tables where decisions are made,” Piha said.
Hanna-Mari Manninen, Chair of the Board of UN Women Finland, put it more bluntly: “Women are needed also as decision makers in sport. If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”
That idea extends well beyond surfing.
Jayathma Wickramanayake, Senior Advisor for Sport Partnerships at UN Women, argued that meaningful change requires more than statements of support. It means changing the systems that determine who gets hired, promoted and given a seat at the table—and holding those institutions accountable.
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“When we change who leads, we change how decisions are made, and ultimately, who sport serves,” she said.
And that matters because sport is about more than competition. It shapes culture, creates role models and influences the opportunities available to the next generation. Sport can give young women the confidence to take up space, lead, challenge boundaries and understand that they belong in places where decisions are made. Those lessons extend far beyond the water.
There are examples of that change happening across the sporting world. In football, Finnish leader Mariet Louhento is pushing for structural change from within the game, while Norway’s Lise Klaveness has emerged as a powerful voice for accountability and reform at the highest levels of the sport.
Surfing needs more of the same: intentional leadership, stronger representation and structural change. Because equality doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when people inside institutions decide that the way things have always been done is no longer good enough.
“When women are part of decision-making, the agenda becomes broader and the sport becomes stronger,” Piha said. “It impacts everything—from athlete pathways to girls’ participation and how the sport is represented.”
Surfing has come a long way. Equal prize money was a huge step. The growing visibility of women in the lineup, in media, and at the highest levels of competition is another. But progress in the water doesn’t automatically translate to progress in the boardroom. Surfing is at a pivotal moment. The progress is real, but incomplete. The next wave of change isn’t just about access. It’s about power.
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