It all started in May 2014, when British racing driver Pippa Mann decided to wear a pink helmet and firesuit for the Indianapolis 500, in partnership with breast cancer foundation Susan G. Komen. Even her car was wrapped in pink with white accents. It was all to support a good cause—at first. But it quickly became something bigger, as Mann learned that her distinguished presence on the track gave other women, and especially young girls, someone to cheer for and identify with.
“I started asking the question of myself: If I believe men and women are equal, and I believe we race as equals, am I not allowed to be a woman and be equal?” Mann says.
And so from then on, the pink helmet stuck around—and so did allowing herself to be recognized as a woman on the track.
