The report, titled “It’s Never Been A Thing: Lessons in Gender Equality from Drag Racing,” showcases the unique environment, cultural values, and structural advantages that have enabled drag racing to become the most gender-equal motorsports in the world. Female drivers in drag racing not only compete but consistently achieve at the highest levels, a rarity in motorsport, where women make up only 4% of elite competitors across disciplines. This year, Drag Racing celebrated its 100th female event winner in the NHRA series, a significant milestone. The comprehensive white paper sheds light on how the sport achieved this and offers a roadmap for others to follow. The collaboration highlights that while motorsport remains predominantly male, some disciplines achieve greater gender balance, offering valuable lessons to apply across the sport.

“It’s Never Been A Thing: Lessons in Gender Equality from Drag Racing” highlights six primary themes that help explain why and how Drag Racing has achieved excellence in female representation, including collaborative advocacy, cultural and structural advocacy, elite-level representation and engineering excellence to name a few. In addition, icons like Shirley Muldowney and Paula Murphy paved the way in the 1960s and 1970s, inspiring subsequent generations of female drivers who now dominate in categories like Top Fuel and Pro Stock.

The white paper emphasises strategies other motorsports can adopt to close their gender gaps, including expanding talent development pipelines, promoting female role models, developing accessible entry points, and removing financial barriers.

The “It’s Never Been A Thing: Lessons in Gender Equality from Drag Racing” white paper is available for download at bit.ly/mtedragracing.