Women and Motorsport Commission

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Throughout the years there have been many influential and successful women in all different areas of motorsport.

Die hard supporters and those in the inner sanctum know about these women but for too long, many race fans and the general public may not have realised that a woman’s role in motorsport can and does surpass the stereotypical roles.

Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, have decided to ‘grab the bull by the horns’ so to speak and formed a Women and Motorsport Commission (WMC). Made up of 19 members, their aim is to promote more participation by women in all aspects of motorsport by creating strategies and policies to promote education and training, and put into practice actions and events to facilitate this.

Personally, when I first heard about this venture I was thrilled. My own journey of working in motorsport has involved a lot of hard work and a great deal of time having to quash the stereotypes that have amassed over time in what has generally always been a very male dominated sport. Proving to people that you are interested in working in motorsport because you are passionate about it and want to work hard is tougher than you may think.

If you ask a lot of women in the industry, they don’t want to be favoured or be made out to be special because they are female. All they really want is to be acknowledged for the good work they can do and given equal opportunities to prove this. That is a reason why, when I first discovered Girl Racer, I wanted to be involved. Not only were they promoting women in motorsport but the managing director and most of the journalists are female, a rarity in the world of motorsport journalism, especially in Formula One.

Over the coming weeks and months I am going to introduce you the members of the WMC and continue to interview and feature women from all aspects of motorsport, both at rounds and away from the track. I hope you will learn something new, be inspired and take something away from it, I am sure I will. By Jacki Warnock for Girlracer magazine http://www.girlracer.co.uk

Worth checking - Motorsport news - F1 news - Jacki Warnock