A detailed investigation comprised of nearly 13,000 respondents and over 70 in-depth interviews with industry leaders has uncovered that motorsport is one of the lowest-performing sports for gender equality, only behind American football, with an average participation across all categories of just 10% for female drivers.
Lella Lombardi was the last female driver to race in Formula 1 in the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix, and More than Equal aims to help identify, develop and support female participation in motorsport.
The findings also showed female interest and fanbase, particularly in F1, has grown, with 40% becoming fans in the last five years while the average age of female supporters is around 10 years younger than their male counterparts.
The study has also looked into what are the main barriers to female participation in motorsport, which highlighted a range of issues including costs, negative stereotyping of skill and ability, a lack of research on physical barriers for participation, a lack of role models and an inappropriate culture.
Using the data, More than Equal – founded by 13-time grand prix winner David Coulthard – will build a female talent spotting and development programme with Hintsa, the Finnish performance specialist which has worked with multiple F1 world champions.
Source: Autosport