Susie Wolff's Dare to be Different Initiative #D2BD

[Horsepowersoul]

Hi Guys,

If you're a woman who loves motorsport - or maybe you're proud of your motor-mad lady Perhaps you have a kid who dreams of raising trophies at race tracks all over the world. Just wanted to get a discussion going and raise awareness of Susie Wolff's Dare to be Different initiative.

Since they're better at explaining it than I am, I will copy/paste the info from a Sky Sports article with Susie herself:

"Our main aim with Dare To Be Different is to Drive Female Talent. This is an ambitious and long-term project that will build an online community of women from all over the world," said Wolff.

"It will connect them through a shared passion and empower them to become the next wave of role models, whilst also providing access to some of the most successful female names in the sport.

"Our UK events for young girls will boost awareness and demonstrate the varied and exciting areas of the sport - showing that they too can dare to be different.

"I'm proud to launch today and must thank my team and our ambassadors for their invaluable contribution and dedication to the project."

Dare To Be Different will have five headline events in 2016, starting at the Daytona karting track at Sandown Park in Surrey in April, before moving onto Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland in May, The Sports Show at the NEC in June, Scotland's Knockhill Circuit in August, finishing at Daytona karting in Manchester in September.

At the events girls will be invited sample karting, with mentoring provided by high-profile motorsport females. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network) ambassadors will also over motorsport based engineering challenges.

Sky Sports will also be present to allow each girl to try their hand at filming a piece to camera.


Also check out the D2BD website: http://daretobedifferent.org/

My only involvement so far is as an enthusiastic fan but I am hoping to contribute in some way and when I get paid on Wednesday, I'll be signing up for the networking part of it. I may not be in pro motorsport but I still have skills to offer


If there's already any discussion about this, please let me know and I'll join the existing thread. I searched but didn't find anything

[Horsepowersoul]

Eric Mc said:

Another go at "Formula Woman".

Interesting that you say that because they're being very emphatic that they're not at all interested in creating races just for women. If that's what you mean.

[Horsepowersoul]

Vocal Minority said:

I agree entirely that more women need to be involved (and more significantly more girls at the grass roots level) and will support any initiative that helps.

(Eric alludes to Formula Woman - which is a stupid idea as it just creates segregation, which should be avoided).

In terms of wanting to be different - I think the emphasis is they don't want to be different from the men in the sport, its getting all of the 10-14 year old girls to get out of the mindset that racing is 'for boys' and bogged down in hair and makeup and other stereotypical girly pursuits.

Ah that's exactly what I wanted to say Cheers!

[Horsepowersoul]

Everyone is just joining up at this stage so I can't tell you who's in right now. Alice Powell and Claire Williams are right in at the sharp end for a start. It's not a set list of people, it's a fluid networking opportunity and from what I've seen so far the best people are falling over themselves to join in.

As for Susie herself, I kinda wish I'd not sent her the link to this thread now. =) I know she's awesome, I've seen her drive, I've seen her beat others in the same car, I have so much respect for her and now I've had the chance to meet her briefly I can confirm, she's as beautiful, funny and intelligent as can be. Not fair really

She can always help a bit by teaching me on track if she likes...

But you don't have to like her...

[Horsepowersoul]

drakart said:

My girlfriend is on "the list" and I defy you to find anyone more inspiring - racing Porsches despite being paralysed after breaking her neck...

Anything that gets more females involved is only a good thing and should be applauded.

Yessssss I have read about her but not had chance to meet her yet. proper awesome

I am inspired for sure. I have lifelong chronic illness and every single day is a brand new fight. But it won't £/!*€ stop me. I have to work full time just to fund our cars and our amateur racing ambitions! Cant stop. When I see others fighting against disability and not just winning but winning gloriously, it makes me feel even more determined.

[Horsepowersoul]

PhillipM said:

There is that. But then if we did a male version of this people would be up in arms.

Pistonheads IS the male version of this...

[Horsepowersoul]

Allow me to be slightly more serious in my response to that one.

It's quite understandable that many men might not see the need for a female motorsport movement but it really is about time to have something. As a kid, I was either discouraged or outright barred from following many of my "boyish" interests, despite a lot of support from my Dad.

Isn't it shocking that it's now the year of my 40th birthday and there's still not too many women in motorsport? Things are changing and so many women have now earned a ton of respect in every area of the industry. So it's an ideal time to get together, encourage each other and see if there's any way we can achieve our dreams together.

We need this because of...
- The guy selling me a car who'll only talk to my husband even though I am asking well informed questions
- The genuinely lovely blokes that talk to my husband about my driving (in a complimentary way) but then find it hard to talk to me directly
- The garage who give me flimflam about my car, thinking I won't understand anyway and then get shirty when I politely question their b.s.
- Even some women who will stonewall me at an event but talk to the men (I really don't get this one!)

bla bla bla... I won't write any more examples because I am not here to be negative and I usually manage to turn all of these round into a positive as they happen Just... why should they happen at all?

I am just hi-lighting my daily experience of being a woman who loves performance cars and motorsport. It's daft that a woman be seen any differently to a man or that a man should feel uncomfortable talking to me about cars because I'm a different shape or whatever... There are insiders and outsiders in any industry but gender shouldn't be a factor in that. I hope that by telling you this, I can create better understanding.

I genuinely believe that this movement will allow females of all ages to step up, welcome each other, boost each others knowledge and confidence, showcasing our skills and creating opportunities for others to get a taste of the wonders of motorsport.

It shouldn't be necessary but the truth is, this is long overdue. Men don't need this One day we won't need it either but we'll probably keep going because it'll be a hell of a lot of fun I am so thrilled at the opportunity... as you can tell.

I guess it might seem like something where we're trying to close ourselves off to men but it really isn't. There's a huge amount of support from men for this and it's about breaking down the barriers not creating new ones

I probably shouldn't write so much because it's not MY initiative. I am just passionate about it Remember all I write is just my opinion, I don't represent D2BD. If you read all that... well done.

[Horsepowersoul]

Hi guys, OK I agree to disagree about the merits of this thing. Not everyone will relate to it, while for some of us, it feels pretty awesome.

I don't want to go into exactly who stopped me doing what 30 years ago. I just wanted to offer a very high level insight into my own experience. I don't want to drill down into that publicly.

I am not saying there's full-on discrimination against women today in motorsport.

I am saying that giving women this networking opportunity feels really positive and liberating to me as an individual. It'll mean different things to different people.

I really look forward to just plain old making friends with some of these brilliant lasses. The ones I have met so far have already brightened my life and if I can give them a boost as well, it'll be great.

You picked up on my mentioning that Susie is beautiful. I can understand that you see that as commenting on her looks and that it could be negative. But in all honesty, I was not commenting on her physical appearance. I could have seen that in her photos. I mean that, in person she has the kind of brightness and charisma that shines out and lifts the people around her. That's what beauty means to me. I suppose not everyone can be exactly like that. But anyone can have a lovely personality that makes them truly beautiful. Just being around people like that is good for the soul.

But yeah. Didn't want to go on about that. Bit deep for this particular forum.

Again - I am just a private individual and not affiliated with the D2BD movement, just wanted to put it out there. Glad to be talking about it, it's interesting to find out what you're all thinking. Did I mention, I think it's great?

[Horsepowersoul]

DelicaL400 said:

Complains about perceived sexism in motorsport.

Then suggests the population of this predominantly male forum is too stupid for deep discussion.

Brilliant.

This is very strange. Why would you imagine I think anyone's stupid? I just wanted to stick to the topic at hand not start going on about perceptions of beauty

I'm celebrating something I think's really positive, here. No complaining.

You might need to replace your filters, man. ECP have some good deals on.

[Horsepowersoul]

PhillipM said:

I don't think what stopped you getting into motorsport 30 years ago applies in a day where social media can tell you what your favorite racer is having for breakfast.
If anything, now it's the other way around, a young girl with some driving talent or an interest in cars will get 10x the encouragement and sponsorship opportunities a young lad will...

I don't think my specific experience is directly applicable today, or even at all. Just being open about where I am coming from

I was saying we've not YET come far enough in those intervening 30 years. Now things are very different. I think this initiative will help more young lasses realise they can do it too. Maybe as you say, there's already a bit of positive discrimination, though I am not sure about 10x positive . Sometimes such things are necessary. Eventually there will be a lot more women in motorsport - and a re-levelled playing field with no need to worry about gender at all.

...and then we'll have come far enough

I only mentioned my own negative experiences to try and illustrate the sort of daftness that sometimes occurs. I feel that the more we promote and encourage women in motorsport, the more such barriers will just fade away. I'll be proud if I can help with that.

I will encourage anyone with enthusiasm and talent in motorsport, quite frankly! Just... this particular thing is about females.

[Horsepowersoul]

I think we might be getting o/t a bit because this is an opportunity to get together and encourage females, no one's giving away an F1 seat.

Also - I posted this just to say hey, if anyone's interested, take a look. If you're not, that's cool

I'm wary of giving any more of my personal answers and opinions because I am not a representative of the movement, just a fan.

Sincerely, thanks for engaging with me in this discussion because I have learned from it. Its really interesting to find out about people's gut reaction to this. I also see how my words can perhaps come across in a way I didn't foresee or intend. I can work on that.

Cheers.

[Horsepowersoul]

lord summerisle said:

We always use this to our advantage: I keep the sales man busy while Lady S gives the car a good going over

Haha I love it. I must admit we've done similar... bought our old WRX wagon that way. Cracking car. <3

Got to take any advantage in this life

[Horsepowersoul]

So many fantastic comments and good points all round, thanks guys

There'll always be people who do and don't agree with this movement. Everyone has their own different experiences/background/resources/observations etc. The beauty of it is... only the ones who agree with it have to contribute.

Clearly I can only speak for myself and not Susie, but I see that people, mainly females, would constantly say how she inspired them. She was really honoured by that and decided to give something back by starting D2BD. Every day, more and more are joining in.

As I'm clearly very much pro the idea I put my money where my mouth is and in the very near future, I hope to be able to help out in more practical ways too. Why not.

Once you discover your passion for motorsport, in whatever way - it's a lifelong joy and potentially an amazing career too. I think we can all agree on that.

Cheers.