Its Good To Be a Woman
- Rami
- Jan 1, 2021
- 4 min read
Women are up and coming in Formula One - engineers, journalists, strategists, team principles and hopefully soon, drivers. And we wouldn't stop it for the world.
Formula one has been a male dominated sport for far too long. All male drivers, 9/10 male team principles, male dominated pit crew, but change is coming, whether you're ready for it or not.
We all know the name Claire Williams, daughter of Sir Frank Williams and former team principle for the Williams Formula One Team. This was a big step for women in motorsport, showing that we can not only know about cars, but we can lead a team. She not only taught girls that we can be interested in this sport, but that we can be trusted in places of leadership and be respected and extremely knowledgeable about our passions. Claire became someone to look up to for many girls who dream of working in motorsport, telling us that we too, can be there one day.
But Claire wasn't the one who sparked girl's love and desire to work in this sport, despite her constantly encouraging it, this title lays with Maria Teresa de Filippis - the first woman Formula One Driver.
Filippis first drove in May 1958 with Maserati and competed in 5 races. Despite never scoring points, Filippis was a pioneer of racing - being the first woman driver. But she wasn't alone. Along with Filippis, there are four other woman who have driven in F1:
- Lella Lombardi - 17 races and 0.5 points in 1974-1976.
- Davina Galica - 3 races, 1976 and 1978.
- Desire Wilson - 1 race in 1980.
- Giovanna Amati - 3 races 1992.
This then leads to one question: why do we not have female F1 drivers today?
The truth be told, there is not as much female interest in the sport in the driving sector. As we know, there are 20 seats on the grid and therefore it is extremely hard for new drivers to enter the sport, especially without funding. New drivers on the grid are usually selected through the junior drivers for each team or from Formula 2 - and with more males karting and being in Formula 2 and 3, they are ultimately more likely to be chosen to compete in F1. More female interest in this area and a rise in females karting, will ultimately lead to a gender diverse grid, with practise, talent and patience. Many believe females don't drive in Formula One because they don't have the talent, which isn't the case - simply, due to the gender norms enforced on children at a young age, males are more likely to be put through karting and therefore have more talent at the sport, than women* - but this is ever-changing and hopefully, with a spike in girls wanting to kart, it will become a reality that in a few years, we will see more women competing for seats in F1 and then eventually, competing for a championship there too.
But this isn't the only sector in Formula One - this is just the one we see the most. Just because there aren't female drivers, doesn't mean that there aren't females behind the scenes.
*- this is a stereotype and i know this is changing, but it has not changed yet. Below are two links to different websites about children and gender norms, give them a read if you don't believe me that there are gender norms for girls and boys or just give them a read if you fancy!
As you may or may not know, there are a lot of women currently working behind the scenes in F1, with women such as Bernadette Collins - head of Racing Point strategy team proving women can not only work in this sport, but be in a position worthy of respect. There are also women in other areas such as engineers, human resources and hospitality, just as there are men.
The rise of women deciding on this realm of sport isn't due to their 'desperate' need for jobs, but instead, passion. It may be hard to believe for some, but yes, women (just as men and any other gender can) love this sport and as everyone else - we want to work in it as we want to work in a job we love, doing something we love. There is a soar in women in STEM and many teams (such as Mercedes) have actually put in a lot of effort to see more gender diversity in their teams - these are mainly aimed at engineering students or those in that pathway, but there are many more graduate schemes with teams for different sectors that are becoming more accepting and open to gender diversity. Many teams have utilised their marketing sectors to promote their gender diversity, for example, McLaren have many team photos with both men and women from all different sectors celebrating after a race (one example here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHsEitxn-ea/ ) and they also have articles about women in their team, such as this one written for International Women In Engineering Day 2020: https://www.mclaren.com/racing/inside-the-mtc/international-women-engineering-day-2020/
This proves that not only are more women increasing their passion for working in the realm of motorsport, but that big teams are also striving for gender diversity and inclusivity.
There are also other sectors, outside of F1 but still in motorsport that women are heavily involved, for example, W Series - an all-women driving championship started in October 2018 to prove that men and women can be equal drivers, given the same opportunity. They are currently operating for 2021, having released their drivers line-up and are making strides towards gender equality in motorsport.
This means a lot to a lot of women out there and so many opportunities are being presented to us everyday in motorsport - its incredible to see and even better for those who are talented, smart and brave enough to work in this competitive yet extremely rewarding field.
- Rami
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