Women struggle to progress to the higher echelons of motorsport partly because of problems raising funding based on prejudice, a study has found.
More Than Equal, an organisation co-founded by ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard, said this was a key barrier to women making it to F1.
Other obstacles included the lack of female-specific training, too few role models, and mechanical challenges.
The study found female participation in motorsport is in the region of 10%.
But it also discovered that there was no global participation data for women in motorsport, which chief executive Alison Donnelly, who formerly worked for Sport England, said was a surprise.
The study says: “The cost of competing is a universal challenge to both men and women, but too few investors and sponsors are willing to take a chance on female drivers early in their careers, preventing their progress at crucial periods.”
Donnelly said: “A lot of the…
