Cringing over female-only sailing events

Yachting and racing expert Georgie Corlett-Pitt tells us why female-only sailing events are still missing the mark:

The topic of gender equality in sailing has been bubbling away for some time. I’ll be honest, there’s a part of me that, as a female, a sailor and a sailing magazine editor, thinks this topic shouldn’t be given a platform as a subject. Why? Simply because putting a topic on the table as an issue makes it an issue – and it shouldn’t be one. Women should go sailing, men should go sailing; we should be picked for teams on our own individual merits, not excluded on baseless, pre-conceived stereotypes. We shouldn’t need to separate by gender.

In a way, even the idea of female exclusive teams and events makes me cringe. Don’t get me wrong, I have participated in plenty such myself, accepted ‘first female’ accolades on more than one occasion; I have reported on them too, and met many outstanding female sailors as a result. But I have always wondered, should women-only events/teams even be a thing? Should we highlight and applaud women’s achievements under the label of ‘women’? The question seems especially pertinent in a sport where one of our most laudable and unique selling points is (or should be) that men and women can compete on equal terms together. – Full report