Horsepower & Heels Blog

Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day of recognition celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

History of International Women’s Day

Originally entitled International Working Women’s Day, the first observance took place February 28, 1909, in New York; organized by the Socialist Party of America in remembrance of the 1908 strike of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.    During the first International Women’s Conference held in August 1910, the women voted to make IWD an official annual observance, set for March of 1911.  On March 19, 1911, over 1 million women all over Europe stood up for International Women’s Day, with active demonstrations demanding that women be given the right to vote and hold public office, denouncing employment sex discrimination.    In the United States, many women still observed the date at the end of February, and Russia had also formed its own observance in late February.    In 1917, the date was moved to March 8 globally, after activists in Germany and Russia staged demonstrations demanding voting rights and lead to strikes at textile factories that became known as the February Revolution.  It became an official day of recognition in the 1960’s for socialist countries, and would eventually be adopted in the late 1970’s after the United Nations called for a globally recognized date of March 8th as International Women’s Day.

Pledge for Parity

The annual observance of IWD every year also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity and bringing awareness to the many issues that still face women today.   This year, the spotlight campaign is #PledgeForParity.

The pledge focuses on 5 important areas to women globally:

• Helping Women and Girls Achieve their Ambitions
• Challenge Conscious and Unconscious Bias
• Call for Gender Balanced Leadership
• Value Women and Men’s Contributions Equally
• Create Inclusive, Flexible Cultures

By committing to pledge your support on one of the core values today and throughout the future, the campaign hopes to bring about positive awareness and change for women across the globe.   

#PledgeforParity in Motorsports

Parity in Motorsports is a 10+ year labor of love for me, and the #PledgeforParity campaign mirrors almost identically the core mission of Horsepower & Heels in the motorsports community.   I have a deep-rooted passion in identifying, learning and helping to overcome the obstacles that face women in our sport.   Though the motorsports culture has seen more and more female participation, it is easy to not see the impact of long-standing bias that still exists throughout the racing hierarchy.  We have come far, but we still have so much more to overcome.

1. Helping Women and Girls Achieve their Ambitions
   Thanks to pioneers like Lyn St. James, Janet Gutherie, Shirley Muldowney and many other trailblazing women in motorsports, the idea that women CAN become vital participants in the sport have very real names and faces that help encourage young women and girls to dream of their potential.   Unfortunately, traditional gender bias still exists that steers young women away from racing.   Young girls need to know that they can aspire to a career in motorsports.    By sharing the success stories of women in the sport, helping to develop programs to introduce and involve girls at a young age, and by finding mentors to help guide developing girls into the correct career paths, we can assure we are supporting the future of women in motorsports.
2. Challenge Conscious and Unconscious Bias
   There is still strong pockets of deep rooted sexism in racing.  Some is very deliberate and intentional – such as the demeaning comments that F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is famous for, while others are sometimes unintentional and based on an unconscious bias.   The latter are sometimes the most difficult to overcome, and through honest discussions and awareness, we can help to re-write the conscious and subconscious view on women in motorsports.    This includes addressing the topics that label and pre-judge female drivers apart from their racecars – from their looks/attire/sexuality, traditional family values and motherhood, and the need for more women leaning in for advancement in the sport.
3. Call for Gender Balanced Leadership
   Changing the culture has to start with equal representation in all aspects of the sport.  From sanctioning organization leadership, to engineers and technical experts, mechanics, drivers and professionals – women must be present in all forms of the sport to be equally represented in decisions and culture.   STEM and vocational training initiatives should be supported and encouraged for girls at the elementary level to groom them for success.
4. Value Women and Men’s Contributions Equally
   Even as women demonstrate their skill and success in the sport, vocal majorities search for reasons to reassign credit elsewhere for her successes.     They see a woman racing, and ask the nearest male about the car.   When she shows interest at learning the automotive industry, she’s just wanting attention.   If she tries to network within the industry, she’s branded a flirt.  If she discusses technical aspects, her insight is marginalized and doubted.  When she lands a sponsor, they assume her looks got her the deal.   If she wins a race, it is because her crew had advantages over the field,  and if she gets a spot behind a for-hire wheel, she had to have slept her way to the job.    Women’s successes are too often reassigned or discredited, instead of being celebrated for the wins that they truly are – contributions that should be respected and valued equally.
5. Create Inclusive, Flexible Cultures
   100+ years of male-dominated cultures make for a landscape that doesn’t welcome change or adaptation.   With more and more women getting involved in the sport, the culture must change to be more inclusive of women.   This starts with the track experience – the grid girls traditions, the stigma of girlfriends in the pit and paddock, accessibility to training programs, diversity in education, etc.   It means addressing things like safety and design for BOTH genders, not adapting things to work for women.

Stay True. Stay Motivated.

Whether it is the response to backlash against any semblance of feminism, a form of reverse misogyny, or just the pressure to remain politically correct, there seems to be a trend where women  are brushing the issues under the rug and denouncing themselves as women in the sport.  They are avoiding important conversations to appear unaffected and unbiased.  They are downplaying their roles as women of influence and apologizing for what makes them unique and feminine.

A race car doesn’t know a gender.   And in an ideal world, that philosophy would be wonderful to experience.  But what people don’t realize is that by downplaying femininity, by criticizing those who choose not to conform to the pre-assigned and very masculine idea of what a racecar driver should look like, act like or be – you are further perpetuating the idea that being a woman is the wrong fit for the job.     I’ve seen female racers within the motorsport community criticize other women because they chose to exert their femininity.   They “slut shame” her because she didn’t choose to “look and act the part”.   They degrade her abilities because she is too girly or too sexy or too pretty.   They ridicule her publicly and decry her dreams because she couldn’t possibly be taken seriously wearing those heels or makeup or dressing provocatively.   But if they TRULY believed that the racecar doesn’t know the difference, then all of those things shouldn’t matter anyways.    Because what she does outside the car – what makeup she puts on, what shoes she wears and what style she identifies doesn’t change ANYTHING about what she brings to the track when the green flag waves and the tires start to spin.

#PledgeforParity starts within us all.   Supporting one another, bringing about positive change for us all.   It starts with being proud of who we are, and being accepting of all forms.   It means having the courage to know our strengths and our differences, and not being afraid to be true to ourselves.    It takes standing up and working towards a culture where all genders are respected and treated equally.

What do you Pledge to support for Women in Motorsports?