The plight of Australian rider Sharni Pinfold has been heard the world over. The 25-year old&rsquo;s strong words have made a real impact, as she describes the world of motorsport as &lsquo;discriminatory and sexist&rsquo;. This has led to significant debate, Pinfold finding herself in the eye of the storm and the FIM even getting involved to condemn the events as &ldquo;unacceptable&rdquo;.  Sharni&#39;s situation   It&rsquo;s difficult to comment on what has actually occurred. On the one hand we have Sharni&rsquo;s statements, although she doesn&rsquo;t name names in terms of who she is accusing, and on the other hand, we have the many people who have been quick to judge the rider.  While it&rsquo;s true that girls who decide to compete in motorcycling are not exactly at an advantage, considering it is a male dominated domain, Sharni&rsquo;s experience appears to be an isolated incident. Or at least, it is if we consider what other women doing this job have said (or not said) about the environment in which they find themselves. In the social media post announcing her retirement, Sharni didn&rsquo;t specify the direction in which her particular &#39;stone&#39; was cast. Does she mean insults from other riders? Or from the team? From the organisation? We don&rsquo;t know. While there is clearly no room for certain discriminatory behaviour, it&rsquo;s hard to understand the dynamics of the situation.  Is it truly a discriminatory world?   Having interviewed many women riders over the years, I often ask: &ldquo;How does it feel to be a women rider in a male dominated world&rdquo;? And most of them, from 8 year-old girls to adult women, tell me that men might sometimes say unpleasant things or don&rsquo;t like it when they are beaten on track. And that isn&rsquo;t nice of course, but it appears to end there. They&rsquo;ve never told me that they&rsquo;ve been discriminated against by their team, in fact I&rsquo;ve always come across team managers who speak highly of their women riders, underlining their strength and tenacity.  Letizia Marchetti&rsquo;s opinion   I asked multi-titled Italian champion Letizia Marchetti what she thinks about it all: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve met Sharni and she&rsquo;s really good, so I&rsquo;m sorry she&rsquo;s taken this decision. From my point of view and in my experience, I can say that when I was racing I might get a few smart remarks from the men, but rather than annoying me it would spur me on. The aim was to be strong so that men would no longer think women can&rsquo;t be fast on track. In motorcycling, but also in life, you can&rsquo;t give in to the insults and unfortunately I also know many guys who stepped away because they couldn&rsquo;t face up to certain situations, and that&rsquo;s because sadly there will always be some idiots, wherever you are. I can confirm that the motorcycling federations are working hard to increase the participation of women in two-wheeled disciplines though. And in any case, I&rsquo;m convinced that passion should be cultivated and not abandoned. We shouldn&rsquo;t let anyone influence our lives and our dreams&rdquo;.  A touch of empathy wouldn&rsquo;t hurt   In analysing what has happened to Sharni, I think we need to consider two factors. The first is that the Australian already had a contract for 2021, so those accusing her of having retired because she wasn&rsquo;t fast might ask themselves why she would quit if she already had a team betting on her? This should perhaps go some way to highlighting how hard her decision must have been and how she must have been feeling emotionally. On the other hand, as several of her colleagues have said, people should perhaps try to be more empathetic.  Without judgment or insult (as we&rsquo;ve already seen too much of that), we can say that in the end, it is Sharni who is fighting her own battle and it is she who - as things stand and in the hope she might change her mind - has &lsquo;lost out&rsquo; to her passion and dream. It takes strength and courage, every day, to bare yourself, to stand up to life&rsquo;s ups and downs, but also to return to the track. And as for the rest, and all the things we cannot know, it&rsquo;s best to keep quiet.  Translated by Heather Watson  Hayden the legend: Nicky inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame 

<p>News of the Australian rider&rsquo;s retirement, the result of discriminatory and sexist behaviour, has circulated the globe. But what is the real story regarding Sharni?</p> 

Sharni Pinfold: the internet condemns her, colleagues call for &ldquo;empathy&rdquo;

        A few days ago, Australian rider Sharni Pinfold announced that she would be leaving the world of racing as a result of having been subjected to derogatory treatment. In her lengthy social media post, Sharni underlined how difficult it was to start her career and secure a contract to compete in the IDM Supersport 300 championship. Having taken up racing following her father&rsquo;s death, Sharni took full responsibility for herself and worked free for years, selling everything she had and sacrifying "many things. My happiness, my lifestyle, my family, my mental health and my physical health. I felt that racing was the only meaning I had to my life, and so it seemed like a small price to pay&rdquo;, she wrote. Lack of respect  &ldquo;Throughout my journey in motorsport, I have experienced and been exposed to many challenges, some that I struggle to even speak about. Most of the challenges I have faced have been sourced from the lack of respect and derogatory treatment of women. Things that I know that I would have never had to experience or be exposed to if I was male&rdquo;, concluded Sharni in her post. Her words did not go unnoticed by the International Motorcycling Federation, which has now issued an official release to state that it is &ldquo;closely monitoring the situation following the statement made on social media by the Australian rider Sharni Pinfold, which aroused strong emotions within the motorcycling community&rdquo;. &ldquo;Gender equality is a core value for the FIM, which constantly strives to ensure the well-being of all riders and stakeholders. The FIM was upset to hear the news and takes the statement made by Ms. Pinfold very seriously. The FIM and the Australian Motorcycling Federation have maintained close contact with the young rider to understand the facts which led Sharni to such discouragement. We would like to stress that Sharni Pinfold can count on the unconditional support of the FIM to overcome this challenge&rdquo;, writes the FIM.&nbsp; The FIM against discrimination  The FIM recalls that the practice of motorcycling is open to all without discrimination and condemns any form of behavior contrary to these values. Since 2006 the FIM Women in Motorcycling Commission (CFM) has been working hard to create equal opportunities and promote equal treatment for women involved in motorcycle-related activities. &ldquo;The FIM does not accept any kind of discrimination towards our riders, regardless of their gender. We are one motorcycling family, everyone is welcome. No inappropriate or disturbing comments or actions shall be tolerated. We aim at supporting all riders and enabling them to pursue their dreams and keep their motivation high. The FIM Women in Motorcycling Commission, together with the FIM and its stakeholders, continue to work hard to improve gender equality in our sport at all levels", concluded the CFM Director, Ms Nita Korhonen. Sharni: "The goal is equality"  &ldquo;From experiencing what I have in my own journey, my wish is that I am able to contribute to the awareness of disrespectful and misogynistic treatment towards females&rdquo;, commented Sharni. &ldquo;I truly hope I am able to encourage the much needed improvement throughout the motorcycle industry and all industries where females are treated differently. This is not just me, there are many other women that have been treated poorly and as a result I hope to be able to empower others to know the importance and value of self-worth. &ldquo;It would be easy for me to sit back and point fingers at the people responsible, but I feel that true strength is determined by how we respond. I am not here to be a victim, I am here to stand for what is right and extend that message outwardly for all women. I am grateful for the support and for the measures taken by the FIM, with the clear focus being equality for all. This is what we stand for&rdquo;, concludes Pinfold. Translated by Heather Watson Whatever happened to&hellip; Troy Corser       

<p>The 25-year old Australian has retired from racing due to a lack of respect. &ldquo;Any form of discrimination based on political, religious, sexual or racial grounds shall never be tolerated&rdquo;, announced the FIM</p>

2 risultati per 'EN sharni pinfold'

Sharni Pinfold: the internet condemns her, colleagues call for “empathy”

No to discrimination: the FIM defends Sharni Pinfold