Sixty years ago, the number of male drivers far outweighed the number of female drivers on the roads. Motoring was something left to the husband or the father and many women just did not get involved. Perhaps this was the starting point of the myth that females don't make very good drivers.
However, sixty years later and a lot has changed. The number of women drivers, although still slightly lower than men, has grown dramatically and the majority of ladies now have a driving licence.
Motor insurance companies all know that ladies make good drivers and as a result, they reward women's low accident risk with cheap car insurance rates. Young women have been proven to be much better drivers than their male counterparts, who unfortunately crash with worrying frequency.
Considering this, it is perhaps surprising that more women don't want to go into motor racing. After all, it's a fantastic chance to have some high-speed fun and its even a sport that doesn't need to be full time - just racing at weekends can suffice.
So why don't more ladies take part in motor racing?
Many men like to claim that there is some fundamental, deep-down reason that women just can't drive very well. Let's call it a switch. This switch can be turned either one way or the other, with good driving ability at one end and femininity at the other. This means that women are either feminine or they can drive well - the two states are not compatible. As most ladies are feminine, men reason, most cannot drive well.
Fortunately, the guys are most definitely wrong on this one. A perfect example of this is Laleh Seddigh. Although she is not very well-known in the UK, she has caused quite a stir in her native Iran. In the 2004 motor racing season, she beat a full line-up of male drivers to become national car rally champion. Oh - and did I mention she is also absolutely stunning and very feminine?
Sadly, most men's attitude towards female drivers is one that leaves a lot to be desired. Many ladies who consider becoming a professional racing driver are put off when they experience men who treat them condescendingly and, even more annoyingly, with an air of slight amusement.
However, it is refreshing to know that at least some of the top racing drivers do not act like this. David Coulthard, for example, has spoken in support of ladies taking part in motoring racing. He believes that there is no physical reason why women can't compete at the highest level and even admitted that his sister had more natural talent for driving than he did.
Age seems to have a lot to do with women's involvement in motor sports. There is a 40:60 split between girls and boys aged 8-14 who hold karting licences, which shows that a lot of females do have an interest in motor racing. However, as these girls grow up, many drop out of motor sport altogether, meaning that just 2% of adult racing drivers are female.
The reason why so many women drop out may be a physical reason, such as the discomfort that many women get from seatbelts, and the like. However, it is more likely that social factors such as family expectations mean that most girls don't even consider a career in motor sport. Those who do entertain the idea of becoming a racing driver are told that it isn't a "girl's sport", whatever one of those is.
However, a few do slip through society's net and this number is growing. The British Women Racing Driver's Club is an organisation dedicated to promoting women drivers in the UK and helps many ladies to get behind the wheel on a racing circuit. For more information please visit http://www.bwrdc.co.uk/.
Also, the growing need for a women's motor racing championship was met in 2003 with the formation of Formula Woman. Formula Woman is an opportunity for women to race competitively against other ladies. There is a series of 8 races in which 16 ladies take part in Mazda RX8s. Sponsored by a company specialising in cheap car insurance for women, this racing series provides an excellent opportunity for girls interested in racing to do what they love most.
So whilst getting into motor sport as a woman still isn't the easiest thing to do, it is at least now possible to start racing competitively. Whether we will ever see men and women treated equally and racing against each other at the highest level, it is impossible to say, but things are certainly moving in the right direction.