Women in Motorsport continued

Women Working In Motorsports

There are many jobs within and associated to motorsports. Whilst the figure of 50,000 motor racing related jobs in Great Britain may be exaggerated what it does highlight is the variation of associated work - technical, administrative, media, marketing, medical etc. Women are represented in all these disciplines but the number of women varies greatly in the different sectors. This section will consider a few of the areas in which women work in motorsports and some of the issues that effect them.

Motor racing is both a sport and a technical forum. The number of technical careers in motor racing are many and varied, including mechanical, chemical & electrical engineering, research & development, design and computer science. Woman hold very few positions within the technical sector of motor sports and this reflects the low number of women who enter these professions. In Great Britain less than 15% of the professional and technical workforce in science and engineering are women. It must also be remembered that these figures include women working in the biological sciences, where they are better represented, in fact, of students gaining first degrees in biological sciences, 61% are women. In the subjects commonly regarded as 'male' the numbers drop much lower, at undergraduate level women make up only 20% of computer science students and 15% of engineering students. Therefore it is hardly surprising that there are few women in motor sports especially in the highly competitive market of the elite levels. Those women who do work in such roles often state, as many women working in male dominated areas do, that they are treated as 'honorary men' - the jobs remain perceived as 'male' work. Diane Holl who has worked as an engineer in Indycar racing notes being a female in a male dominated field is a double edge sword - whilst she believes she has struggled for the recognition of some due to her gender she also notes being female has made her easily identifiable and helped make her name in the profession. Sharon Hopkins worked as an electrical engineer for the Arrows Formula One Team in 1997 and notes the feelings of many female engineers, not just in motorsport but in engineering as a whole, when she says:

"People tell me I am a bit special because I'm the first woman engineer - but so what? … It's not about being a woman or a man. It is about being able to do the job properly"

(Interview with Sharon Hopkins in The Daily Express 1997)

She does go on to note there have been problems due to her gender, noting when she worked at the Williams Formula One Test Team:

"there was a small problem because I was a woman and would have to have a separate room if I went to races."

(Interview with Sharon Hopkins in The Daily Express 1997)

The jobs most frequented by women in motorsports are often defined as 'female' work including catering/hospitality, public relations and models. These careers often contain elements which are deemed 'feminine' such as nurturing, communication, attractiveness and therefore women in these roles do not challenge commonly held ideals of what is thought suitable work for women. Di Spires who has worked in F1 hospitality since 1978 notes:

"The catering side is probably the bottom of the list of jobs in F1 . . . but it was the only way females could get in in those days".

(Autosport 8 July 1993)

Public relations is a female stronghold for women in motorsports and a career often portrayed as suiting women's' 'natural' attributes - the ability to communicate and organize. Former Tyrrell Press Officer, Ellen Bernfeld said:

"The trouble is that the teams find themselves in a dichotomy between having pretty girls who just hang out, and what they actually need, which is intelligent women who work very hard and want to do a good job".

(Autosport 8 July 1993)

There are many preconceptions about women in motorsports, many of which trivialize women's roles and question their motives for working in the sport. Whilst motorsports attracts 'hangers-on', of both sexes, women are particularly liable to be stereotyped into this group. Former Williams Press Officer, Ann Bradshaw notes she was particularly aware of this attitude:

"people tend to think that a female who is involved in motorsports is there for two reasons: to sleep with a racing driver and to be seen looking pretty in a pit lane".

(Donaldson 1990:320)

For both sexes working in a close-knit field reputations both professional and personal can affect a persons career whether such reputations are based on truth or gossip. Journalist, Joe Saward wrote:

"For a woman working in F1, life is hard enough without complicating it with indiscreet behaviour. Credibility is vital and getting caught sleeping with the wrong person can destroy a girl's career".

(F1 News 7 February 1996)

Of course, the other side of this coin is the belief a woman may in fact enhance her career by sleeping with the 'right' person and so a circle develops.

Whilst the role of PR includes interfacing with the press and supplying press releases the number of women in motorsports journalism and photography remains low especially as regular newspaper and magazine correspondents. Those who do work in media, like their counterparts in technical jobs, say they often feel they are treated as 'honourary' men. Because motorsports is a close-knit and male dominated community it may make it difficult for female journalists and photographers to gain access to stories and opportunities. Beatris Assumpcao worked as a sports journalist including reporting F1, she notes:

"F1 is a very closed world and obviously if you are a woman it is more difficult. It took me about a year to get to know people".

(Autosport 8 July 1993)

In many cases female journalists may find it difficult to form contacts as people often mistake them for one of the more 'traditional' female roles, journalist, Rebecca Bryan notes when she approached people they often replied:

"Oh, I always thought you were somebody's girlfriend"

(Donaldson 1990:193)

The role of wives and girlfriends has changed dramatically since the introduction of the World Championship in F1 in 1950 and this is mirrored in other motorsports. In the 1950s, whilst the sport was still in the early stages of professionalization and commercialization , wives and girlfriends of participants were actively involved in the running of the sport. Many women acted as caterers and hospitality hostess's, organized travel to and from races and were responsible for lap timing and charts. With the professionalization of the sport these roles have been delegated out with the increasingly specialized division of labour. This has meant wives and girlfriends in more recent times attend races in a supportive role, if they attend at all, many choose to remain at home, particularly if they have a family, or stay at the hotel rather than be present at the race track. With the increasing media interest in the sport and the increasing tendency to report sports people's private lives, many wives and girlfriends have become 'minor celebrities' especially if they are 'glamorous' or famous in their own right.

The portrayal of women as glamorous is often seen to go hand in hand with motor racing culture, not only the portrayal of wives/girlfriends, but the increasing use of models which will be discussed in the next section.

  Next page: "The Representation of Women and Motorsports"

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  Bibliography (or Go to my Book Reviews Page)

Autosport 8 July 1993

The Daily Express 1997

Gerald Donaldson - "Grand Prix People" Motor Racing Publications Ltd 1990 Go to my Book Reviews Page for reviews of similar titles

F1 News 7 February 1996

(c)RH PR 2007