MOTORSPORT UK OUTLINES ITS PROGRESS ON GENDER
To mark International Women’s Day, the governing body shows its achievements in boosting female involvement in UK motorsport
Motorsport UK will mark International Women’s Day tomorrow (Friday) by celebrating its role in creating opportunities for females in the sport both for competing and in other roles.
The governing body’s initiatives include Girls on Track UK – to inspire careers in motorsport – plus Discover Your Drive, which was launched last year to introduce more girls into karting. From this, female participation in the British Indoor Karting Championship increased by 265% and one girl reached the national finals.
Many up-and-coming female competitors have been supported in Motorsport UK’s Academy and the percentage of new marshal registrations being female is also steadily increasing.
Motorsport UK’s head of sustainability
Jess Runicles told Motorsport News: “There’s been some good stuff for a while, but what we’re seeing now is the numbers start to change and actually a lot of activations coming from within the community.
“Giving people an opportunity to have a go in a space that isn’t necessarily as intimidating [is important]. Those kind of supportive environments really, really make a difference.
“Knowing how to get involved is always [a barrier]. So we’re trying to make it very clear on how to get started, especially if you haven’t been introduced by a friend or a family member. You might walk into a very heavily male environment and you’re doing it for the first time, that can be quite tricky.
“We want to keep going until we see much more diverse motorsport. I mean licence holders, I mean people working in the sport, I mean people volunteering and officiating.”