Celebrating our incredible alumni on International Women’s Day
Published: 08/03/2022
As we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), we’re shining a light on NTU alumna, Charlie Martin, her remarkable achievements as a British racing driver and LGBTQ+ activist, and why she feels it’s important that we support each other to bring about positive change.
About Charlie Martin
Charlie graduated from NTU in 2004, with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design and is now a British racing driver and LGBTQ+ activist. She has raced successfully in multiple disciplines including single seaters, prototypes and GT cars. In 2020 she became the first ever transgender driver to compete in the ADAC TOTAL 24hr Nürburgring-Rennen, where she finished 4th in class racing a BMW M240i. In 2021 she finished 3rd in the Praga class of the Britcar Endurance Championship.
Her ambition is to make LGBTQ+ history by competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of the biggest motorsports events in the world. She has overcome huge adversity since transitioning mid-way through her career and works with leading LGBTQ+ charities Stonewall (Sports Champion), Mermaids (Patron) and Athlete Ally (ambassador) to improve visibility, acceptance and inclusion in motorsport.
Charlie has featured in Vogue Magazine and was listed in the Vogue 25, a celebration of inspiring women shaping the World in 2021 and beyond. She was also included in the Pride Power list, OUT Magazine 100 and Attitude 101. She is a professional public speaker and works regularly with large organisations to help them improve their commitment to diversity and inclusion.
About International Women’s Day, Charlie said:
I feel that IWD is about looking at the landscape and the progress we still need to make in achieving equal rights for women. When we consider this year’s theme, ‘Break the Bias’, there are still so many issues that need to be tackled, such as equal pay for equal work and the lack of women at corporate level management, to simply creating more equal opportunities for young girls around the world.
Of course, it's also a celebration of inspiring women, it's about supporting one another and empowering positive change.