Dare to Be Different (organisation)
Encouraging girls into motor racing and changing industry perceptions.
Back in 2016, Susie Wolff, a former racing driver, and Rob Jones, the head of the Motor Sports Association, launched Dare to be Different. This nonprofit works to get more women involved in all kinds of motor racing and to shift how people view women in fields mostly run by men. Across the UK, it runs events where local girls aged eight to fourteen can try out racing-related activities.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 2016
- Founders
- Susie Wolff and Rob Jones
- Launch event
- Autosport International show
- National Exhibition Centre
- Birmingham
- 14 January 2016
Facts from the source article.
History
Dare to be Different was founded after Susie Wolff contacted Rob Jones, who became enthusiastic about the project. The initiative launched at the Autosport International show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on 14 January 2016, when women made up 5% of racing drivers in the United Kingdom. Wolff stated to the press that the organisation was intended for long-term expansion, not a short-term effort. In 2016, five events were held across the UK.
Activities
The organisation's primary objective is increasing female participation in all forms of motor racing regardless of age or background, and changing views of women in male-dominated industries. It builds an online community through social media and its website. Local school girls aged eight to fourteen are invited to events where they learn from women in motor racing. Activities include kart racing, fitness, nutrition and diet education, engineering, media etiquette, and a tyre switch pit stop challenge. The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network Ambassadors charity helped members construct a hovercraft in the first year. In 2019, Dare to be Different partnered with the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission to launch the grassroots FIA Girls on Track – Dare to be Different, using educational activities about motor racing careers. Ambassadors include Alice Powell, Claire Williams, Rachel Brooks, and Ruth Buscombe.
More in Motorsport Organisations in the United Kingdom
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