Richard Hogan: Young women like Georgina Wilkinson are an inspiration on International Women's Day 

Georgina Wilkinson. At twenty, Georgie is the next big thing to happen to Irish Junior Supersport, motor biking. She is now a member of ‘James Halligan Racing’ (JHR Racing) and is competing in the Women’s European Championship this year.

Today is International Women's Day. It’s a moment when we reflect on the impact women have on our society. I am blessed, in my life, to be surrounded by women.

I have three daughters and was raised by my mother and grandmother, two strong Cork women.

In honour of the week that’s in it, I had the great fortune of speaking with an amazing young Irish talent, Georgina Wilkinson.

At 20, Georgie is the next big thing to happen to Irish Junior Supersport, motor biking.

She got a motorbike at 16 and fell in love with the world of biking.

But it’s in her genes, her great-grandfather, she informed me with a glint in her eye, raced at the Isle of Man TT and that is how he met her great-grandmother.

So, Georgie literally owes her life to the sport and now it is the passion of her life.

At 16 she went to the race track for a little bit of fun but someone there told her that, “she wasn’t half bad”.

For Georgie, this was all the feedback she needed. She took that little spark of positivity and turned it into a fire.

She is now a member of James Halligan Racing (JHR Racing) and is competing in the Women’s European Championship this year.

Sitting with Georgie is an incredible experience. Her energy and zest for life is infectious. She is the kind of girl who inspires people.

Having three daughters myself, I am always conscious of internalised prejudice and how it can victimise a person.

I have often thought that some of the conversations about equality in the workplace have the potential to develop a sense of powerlessness in young girls.

If we tell our children that society is inherently patriarchal and designed to subjugate women, it can make girls/women feel like there’s no point in taking part because they won’t get fair treatment.

And while we must illuminate inequity when and where we see it, we must also teach our daughters to believe they can affect change and that they do have agency and autonomy in their world.

Georgie’s story articulates this idea powerfully.

Richard Hogan. Photograph Moya Nolan

I asked her why girls are underrepresented in the sport and what it was like to be in a very male-dominated sport?

“Yes, it is male-dominated, but I don’t think it is because women are refused entry into it. I have been welcomed into the sport with open arms; it’s been incredible, actually, the love and support I have received,” she says.

While she does acknowledge that some might find it harder to be beaten by a girl, she explained, “the only ones that comment on it are the ones that might be a little insecure, but nearly every guy has been amazing. They have included me, it’s like a family and it would be disrespectful to the guys I’ve met to say I have been excluded or experienced prejudice.”

She is such a powerful force, insightful and honest. I asked her, did she feel the weight of history being the only girl out there on the racecourse?

“The weight is there, but I put that pressure on myself, I have that fear in my head, ‘the girl will be last’ and that motivates me to try harder.”

We need to improve how girls talk to themselves, so that is not an idea in their heads.

We need to build their confidence so that they know they can take part in any activity that boys are involved in.

That needs to start really early in primary school.

We must work to break the barriers of prejudice by engaging girls in all sports.

Women like Katie Taylor and Georgie are so important because of the message they give young girls, dreaming in their bedrooms about becoming the next Taylor or Wilkinson.

We have made such huge strides in equity over the last number of years.

People like Georgie tell girls that they are powerful and they should dream.

As a parent, I don’t know how I’d manage a daughter who was involved in such a high risk sport, so I asked what her parents thought?

“My dad thought it was very cool; my mom struggled with the thought of me racing, but she is always there supporting me, championing me on.”

International Women’s Day is a celebration of women. Georgie is adamant that “all girls should find what they love to do, no matter how weird or male dominated, and just do it”.

What a positive message to share with all girls and women.

To thrive in life we have to believe we have agency, we have to believe we matter and that we control our trajectory through life.

I want to say how much I owe to all the wonderful women who have shaped me and made me the person I am today.

Happy International Women’s Week.