Key points:
- Female voices from across the horseracing industry discuss their experiences and representation of women in visible horseracing roles
- The panel is the third to be held at Virgin Bet Easter Bank Holiday Raceday
Hosted by Natalie Pike, Presenter at Manchester City Football Club, and featuring panelists Gemma Waterhouse, Chief Operating Officer, Racing Welfare; Laura Perkins, Veterinary Nurse, Kingsclere Veterinary Surgery; Hayley Moore, Racing Presenter and former Amateur jockey and Emma Kaye, Founder & CEO, WalkSafe, women from across the racing industry discussed getting into their positions, the challenges they've faced and the importance of getting girls interested in racing at Virgin Bet's third Women's Day Panel at Virgin Bet Easter Bank Holiday Raceday.
As women working in sport, we've all had to overcome many challenges to get to the places that we are. I'd love to hear from you about the challenges you've had to overcome to get to your career and how you overcame them as a woman working in racing.
Waterhouse: I faced a lot more challenges in my previous workplace as an accountant. At one point I worked at a very male-heavy environment in central London, and there were a lot of challenges around that. In racing, I haven't experienced a huge amount of challenges. I've had a few boardroom instances that have been a bit frustrating, expecting me to take the notes or make the coffee. But, I'm quite quick at coming back on that type of thing.
I had one scenario in a boardroom where a male colleague had not managed to deliver on a deal. I asked if I could try, subsequently went and delivered the deal, and around the boardroom was told, again, by a very male-dominated boardroom, that maybe if he'd looked like me, he may have been able to seal the deal. I'm not going to tell you what I said.
There are a lot of women in racing. At the British Racing School, where I worked, 70% of our students were women. Where I work now, there are 55 members of staff, only four are men.
Perkins: I've been quite lucky to be fair. The veterinary industry is mostly female, so I've not had any instances where I've been in that position. Really, I'm extremely lucky.
Moore: It's very well documented how much better female jockeys are getting on these days. I'm 37 now, but when I first started riding I was 16, doing my GCSEs, I'd only ever ridden as an amateur. Back then, even though I had great role models, like my auntie who was a successful dual-purpose jockey and my mum, who had four kids and at 33 took out her amateur licence and started riding, it still seemed like it was a very male-dominated sport, and that women didn't get chances.
Since my time riding, we've had people like Hayley Turner, who this month just retired. She's changed the sport, and I know that the girls riding now would have said she was their role model. 20 years ago, there weren't many women that you could look up to and think, oh, I want to be like her coming into the sport. Whereas now, I think of Hayley Turner, with her ability in the saddle, she probably would have got more chances because women do get more chances.
We've got three women riding at Virgin Bet Easter Bank Holiday Raceday. Laura Pearson, she's done really well. Saffie Osborne, the first female to ride a winner in Dubai, and Hollie Doyle, who's here today. She's ridden over 1,000 winners in her career, group one, and she's tough, hardy and has always gone out there to prove to everyone that she's just as effective as a male jockey.
You can go and become a lawyer or become an accountant or any of these other professions, and you can use that to then get into sport, whatever sport that might be
The visibility of the women that you mention is so key. It feels so important for the industry and for women in racing and sport. If we want to encourage more women to get into, not even just to be jockeys, but to do a variety of jobs like we're seeing on the panel, what can we do?
Moore: I suppose it would be embracing people like Saffie, Hollie, getting them out there, getting them into schools. I think that’s where it starts out. It's very difficult for young girls to have body confidence, let alone have confidence to go out there and do sports sometimes. I know that's getting better all the time, which is great to see. There's a lot more sport in school than there used to be. It's just about seeing more females. We need about 10 Saffie’s and 10 Hollie Doyle’s.
I know Laura, you said that on the veterinary side, it is quite female-dominated. What do you think the industry could be doing to make it more feasible for young girls as a career, or do you think your side of the industry is already doing that?
Perkins: So, [we could do more on] highlighting the roles available. When I started, I had no idea about racing or different career paths within racing. So, support the people that have those interests, encouraging them and highlighting different areas that are available for people.
Gemma, I know you said that you've got so many women working at Racing Welfare. From your point of view, though, what could the industry be doing to promote women in more variety of roles?
Waterhouse: Things like this [panel] are brilliant. If this had been broadcast throughout the racecourse, that would have been great.
Hayley Turner's changed the sport, and I know that the girls riding now would have said she was their role model
I think more storytelling. That's what you've got us here doing, telling our story, which is fantastic. A lot of people ask me, parents and people who have nothing to do with racing, about me and my job or what I do or how I got into it. I always say, you can go and become a lawyer or become an accountant or any of these other professions, and you can use that to then get into sport, whatever sport that might be. You would want to become a physio? You can do that in any of these sports.
There is something called Careers in Racing, which was initiated by the British Horse Racing Authority (BHA). It's a website and it's got a job board as well as all sorts of information about the different careers you can have in racing. It's a really useful place to go and have a look at if you're interested in working in our sport.
Emma, I want to take a left turn for the minute. We're hearing about all the different roles in racing. I'm very passionate about promoting racing. It is a day out that is accessible to everybody and that you should come along to, that you can enjoy with your friends and your family. That fits really nicely into what you do in terms of personal safety on race days. Why specifically personal safety on race days?
Kaye: I feel passionately about ending violence against women and girls, full stop. It's something that when I got into my career, talking about being thrust into opportunities, it was a bit of a sink-or-swim moment. I had an opportunity with Sky and I took it, even though I was petrified, and it's really pushed me into the sort of PR role that I'm in where I hope I can articulate the needs, concerns and worries that women and minority groups have.
It wasn't long into our journey that we started to work with different companies. One of them was Budweiser, and we were helping people to get home safely, ‘get every bud home safely,’ and we were looking at how we can encourage more women to watch the Lionesses, so we had a partnership with them at the time.
It frustrated me that as a woman, we take the financial burden of these things. To look after our safety, we spend over £100 ($133.1) extra a month getting home safely. The time impact it has, having to find alternative routes, making sure that there's good lighting... Or, perhaps our friends can't make it, and then we're thinking, do I actually want to do that alone?
Race days, exactly like you said Natalie, are really fun. I've got my kids, my family here today, and that shouldn't be lost on us because we're always thinking about our safety. The two things go hand-in-hand, and I think where we feel safer, we access the economy, the economy thrives. It's a win-win. It's really important to be able to go about your daily life and have those experiences in a fun, safe way.
What I would love to do is find out a little bit of advice from each of you. Emma, in terms of inspiring women to take up a career in racing or in something they're passionate about, what advice would you give them?
Kaye: If I could be really obnoxious and call to action the men in the room. It always feels like women's safety is always a woman's concern and responsibility, and one thing I always talk about is how men can show up for women. Even if you feel safe, you could download the app, which is free, and receive notifications or shared journeys on behalf of a loved one.
Race days, exactly like you said Natalie, are really fun. I've got my kids, my family here today, and that shouldn't be lost on us because we're always thinking about our safety
Waterhouse: When it comes to jobs, you need to do something that you're going to enjoy because it takes up a huge part of your life. As I said, there’s 20,000 people working in horseracing. It's a business. There's every job you could possibly imagine. So, do something you enjoy and something you can do well at, and then look in racing for that role because it will be there. There is every job you can imagine, whether it's a desk-based job or a frontline job, working with the horses or working in the media. So, do something you love and then come and find it in racing.
Perkins: Getting out there, talking to people. If it's something you love, find somebody that is in that area of expertise. We're all here to help and encourage.
Moore: Don't ever feel like you're held back for being a female. Things are changing a lot for the better now, and we're seeing all sorts of improvements, even in the wider world, away from horseracing. But, don't feel like you're going to be held back because you're female. If it's something you want to do, go and do it. There are so many different aspects of horseracing that you can find a role in. You don't need to be a jockey, you don't need to be a presenter, you don't need to be a vet. There's loads of different things you can do.
Waterhouse: Racing has changed a lot. I've been in racing for 23 years. There are a lot of females in senior positions in racing now. Board level in racing, they have realised they have to embrace diversity and do more. There are a lot of females sitting on boards, boards of charities, the BHA board. We've have some very senior jockey club people who are now female.
