Diversity Rules Magazine

to look at things objec vely, see things from their perspec ve and try to carry people along and edu- cate them through the process." How important has support been (such as support groups, friends) throughout your journey? "Coming into transi on, I didn't actually have any trans friends. I didn't have any contact with the com- munity, and it was actually some me before I reached out to people. So, all of my support was through cis- gender, predominantly heterosexual friends - I feel really lucky that I had [their] support. "That carried me a long way because it's such a dif- ficult process to go through. There are so many emo- ons that you feel: excitement, fear, anxiety. Un l you're in that experience, you don't know how you're going to feel one day to the next. "There's no field manual when you transi on, it's very much, 'okay, off you go, learn as you go!' and you have to learn very quickly. I think going through that you become very vulnerable, you're very visible in a lot of public spaces. So knowing you have the support of your friends, your family, and everyone around you to fall back on, it really makes all the dif- ference." What does diversity and inclusion mean to you and why are they important? "Diversity and inclusion mean having be er repre- senta on for everyone in the spaces that they work in, they live in. Whether you're talking about ethnic minori es or people from the LGBTQ community, I think it's so important to see people represent you, not only in the world around you, but especially when we talk about careers and organisa ons. "I'm a big believer in the phrase 'you can't be what you can't see', and if you can't see a pathway neces- sarily to get where you want to be, it's easy to talk yourself out of things. I think it's being included. Peo- ple reaching out to you, engaging with you not be- cause you're there by default or because someone's trying to fulfil a quota. "In terms of my career, it's personal to me because motor sport is such a male dominated industry. It's not really changed much in that respect; it's s ll very much ran by men and done by men. I know how that impacted me, trying to see my future and imagine what that would look like. So certainly for me, it's im- portant to bring diversity and inclusion into a space where there's a dis nct lack of it." As the first transgender racing driver, what mo - vates you and how important is LGBTQ+ represen- ta on in your sport? "I think LGBTQ+ representa on is really important in motor sports and in the automo ve world as a whole. If we look through history, there was Roberta Cowell who transi oned in 1948, who competed at quite a high level as a racing driver and fighter pilot. I mean, an incredible pioneer for her me! "But since then, there [have been] a couple of people pop up from the LGBTQ+ community, but very few and far between. Therefore, I never saw anyone like me in a career that I was interested in. I wanted to be a fighter pilot, actually, when I was very young, but whether it's fighter pilot, racing driver - when you can't see anyone that looks like you, you think, 'how am I ever going to make it?'. "Let's be honest, motorsport is an incredibly tough sport to make it as a driver. It's not like football or tennis where you just pick up a ball or a racket, and you start playing! You need hundreds of thousands of pounds. In fact, to make it to Formula 1, it's mil- lions and millions. "So, you need to feel like you have an actual, realis c chance of succeeding in your career. And if you can't see the people that are doing it already, it's so easy to lose heart. That's why for me, it feels so cri cal to be out there, to be visible." Diversity Rules Magazine | Nov 2021 | 5

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