It’s no secret that the world of motorsport is heavily male-dominated. That has been a theme since the sport's inception, with only two female drivers ever participating in Formula 1 world championship races.
But, why?
Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer but a not-for-profit organisation is trying to change that. And it begins with science and your opinion.
In July 2022, 13-time grand prix winner driver David Coulthard and entrepreneur Karel Komarek launched More than Equal, an initiative created with the commitment of crowning the world’s first-ever female F1 drivers’ world champion. To help tackle the issues women are facing on a daily basis in the industry, they have launched their first Global Attitude Survey with the goal to understand these perceptions and opinions.
Their 10-minute survey, along with one-to-one interviews with senior figures in motorsport, will study competitors’ and fans' ways of consuming information and news, as well as their opinions of both the mental and physical challenges that women in motorsport face. This will include questions about women’s ability to compete at elite levels and whether respondents believe they have the reaction times to do so.
Their investigation will further touch on whether respondents believe that women and men should race in the same series, and if women competing in a championship would encourage them to watch it.
The survey will also focus on the stereotypes around women in the racing world and the responses will directly impact helping to pave the way to make the sport more inclusive.
The web-based survey is available in 15 languages and will be live until the 3rd of February 2023. The significance of a study on this scale is a step in the right direction as we continue to work together to break stereotypes and rethink racing.
The fact that 99% of people to have raced in F1 have been men is a stark reminder of the barriers women face every day in the industry. With your support in filling out the survey, More than Equal can take the necessary and appropriate next steps in continuing their search for the top female racing talent and the first-ever female F1 champion.
As Kate Beavan, Senior Advisor to More than Equal reiterated, “more women have flown in space compared to those who’ve been behind the wheel of an F1 car”. And we think that’s pretty powerful.
To help make a difference and fill out the survey, head over to: https://more-than-equal-survey-2023.motorsportnetwork.com/