Pathways
Pathways now stretch right to the pinnacle; this year’sWomen’s America’s Cup provided an incredible showcase. But the real momentum is only just building
Path to balance in sailing
Georgie Corlett-Pitt chats to Abby Ehler about the progress in gender equality in sailing so far – and about what still needs to happen
in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, and subsequently launched The Magenta Project – today, a flagship organisation for equality in sailing. Not forgetting of course, the earlier trailblazers that came before: Maiden, Heineken, EF Education and Amer Sports Too. No longer is it unprecedented to see
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females at elite level racing – even the America’s Cup has now mandated female crew members. At grassroots level, much is being done by governing bodies to encourage women. It’s fair to say the pathways, while far from being well-trodden, have now at least been pencilled on the map. Abby Ehler, a four-time Ocean Race
veteran who has behind-the-scenes involvement with the America’s Cup and SailGP, and a founding member of The Magenta Project, agrees that progress in the past 10 years has been significant. ‘It’s a very different landscape from
when I was starting my career in the early 2000s,’ she recalls. ‘A lot is thanks to the mixed crew rules first introduced in The Ocean Race, the Olympics, and through initiatives like SailGP Women’s Pathway and dedicated platforms such as The Magenta Project.’ Indeed, preliminary findings from The
Magenta Project’s 2x25 survey, agree: 86 per cent of respondents feel that female representation in sailing has improved in the last five years. The survey is backed by 11th
Hour Racing and supported by
World Sailing. Final results are expected to be released at World Sailing’s AGM in
here’s no doubt our sport has changed. It’s been a decade since an intrepid group of women very visibly challenged the status quo as Team SCA
November, and at Metstrade. As more events and classes provide
opportunities for women to develop and show their ability, it’s proving a crucial long-term step in a sport that rewards experience. Abby, just back from racing with Allagrande Mapei in The Ocean Race Europe, says: ‘You want to be selected based on merit and not as a vanity metric, and yes, the rules can sometimes feel uncomfortable. No one wants to think they are there to tick a box. ‘However, without those rules the status
quo would remain unchanged. It’s about creating access points for women to gain experience, confidence and visibility. Over time this builds a stronger, more diverse talent pool.’ Of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18,
which incentivised teams to include two females, she says: ‘That experience put those women in the spotlight, and they proved themselves; we’ve since seen many of those sailors continue upwards. A few said they felt it was difficult to integrate fully at the time, but despite that, the experience they gained from sailing around the world has opened doors.’ The lesson since then has been in
moving on from box-ticking to ensuring genuine inclusivity on board. ‘True equality is seeing women as normal and not remarkable,’ says Abby. Undoubtedly this is the part that
requires the biggest cultural shift. Barriers clearly remain, not least the argument that women are physically less capable, which, in her experience, Abby says, is ‘a lingering stereotype’. Yet it’s one that is increasingly being pushed aside as females prove themselves in less physical roles such as navigation,
tactics and trimming, and with the onset of push-button tech. That sailing is built on networks can
be another hurdle. ‘Historically, those networks are male-dominated. Teams are naturally built on trust and inherently homologous. Breaking into that as a female can be extremely difficult; you’re naturally perceived as a risk.’ Key to moving forward is creating
chances for women to build their own networks. At this year’s Admiral’s Cup, a fresh collective formed among female competitors, something Abby, who sailed with NYYC’s Botin 56, Black Pearl, is proud to be a part of. Clearly, despite 10 years of concerted
campaigning and pathways being formulated our sport remains in need of such incentives and initiatives to continue this momentum. ‘Without them, we’d move backwards,’
says Abby. ‘We’re yet not at a point where the habits and traditions that run deep in our sport would be left behind. The rules we have in place now are like temporary scaffolding; until we cement the foundations, the culture won’t fully shift.’ Creating opportunities across all levels
remain central to showcasing to sailors of all genders what a balanced sport will, one day, look like. And while every “female first” should be celebrated as progress, looking forwards the hope is that the sensationalism tapers and “female achievement” becomes, well, “achievement”, on a par with any other. Meanwhile, as the talent pool gradually
widens, kudos to those already overlooking gender and picking individuals on merit; the sport can only grow stronger for it, and teams already on to this will surely be the ones to gain the edge. ❑
SEAHORSE 69
RICARDO PINTO/AMERICA’S CUP
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