A Note From Our CEO
Dear Women Who Sail community,
2020 has been a hard year with constant change. All of us have been impacted by the pandemic and we hope this group has offered you some support during a difficult time.
I’m writing to share updates on our new structure and trademark, and provide clarity around the split with the former Pacific Northwest subgroup.
We would like to take this opportunity to clarify some of these issues with the hope this will strengthen our community and help lay the foundation for the future of Women Who Sail.
Women Who Sail was founded in 2011 around the ideas of safety, support, and civility for its members. Our Mission Statement today reflects those ideas:
Women Who Sail® is a place to come together to share insights, tips, questions, excitement, and most importantly support over what it’s like to be a woman in the boating world. We work hard to keep this very diverse group respectful, supportive, and on target. We are an anti-sexist, anti-racist group that values inclusivity and humanitarian efforts around the globe.
In the years since our inception, we have successfully grown to a large, global group – with the main group and all of our subgroups, our numbers total over 50,000 members. As we have grown, we have worked hard to maintain the integrity of our mission. Part of this process is a trademark to ensure that whenever you see the Women Who Sail name, you know what to expect: kindness, respect, and inclusivity when discussing sailing and life on the water.
In addition to the trademark, we have created a company structure. So far, all of the work of the last eight years has been done on a volunteer basis by our group admin leadership team who we thank tremendously.
Moving forward, through the creation of a company structure, alongside our volunteer admin leaders, we also hope to create some paid positions. These new roles will allow us to create more opportunities for women on the water, improve our community offerings, and support and lift up other women’s sailing organizations in your communities.
Last month, in the former Pacific Northwest (PNW) subgroup, an admin made a post saying there could be no discussions of politics or religion. In the resulting comment thread, the admin explained that discussing Black Lives Matter would not be allowed and used the expression “All Lives Matter” in that context.
We immediately tried to engage in a learning dialogue with the subgroup admins on the contextual meaning behind a statement like “All Lives Matter” in the current national and global discourse. In the process of reaching out to them, one action step we took was updating our mission and clarifying what is meant in our guidelines by ‘no politics.’ For clarity, we added that Women Who Sail sees anti-sexist, anti-racist, and humanitarian efforts as non-political.
After a month of attempts to find common ground with the former PNW subgroup admin team on these issues, we were unsuccessful. PNW put out a statement that they are not affiliated with our group. Women groups do not need to be a part of a Women Who Sail subgroup to be welcomed as a partner of this community. We wish the former PNW subgroup all the best, and in line with good practice, it is necessary for them to change their name.
We have created an official Women Who Sail® Pacific Northwest subgroup that is in alignment with our mission and posting guidelines. It is important to us that WWS subgroups ensure the safety of all members, including those who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).
Since the split, the former group has begun to engage their members on issues of diversity, inclusivity, and equality. We applaud their change of heart and hope they continue these important discussions.
We hope this provides clarity. We believe in transparency and community involvement as much as we can. We are saddened by the hurt, confusion, and challenges this has brought on.
Diversity work is never easy. We, at Women Who Sail, believe that despite the difficulties, it is worth it. While we want to encourage conversations, growth, and respectful disagreement, it is important that this dialogue takes place in a safe and respectful environment. We hope you join us in committing to these principles of engagement:
We believe it is important to create a space where our BIPOC members feel welcome.
We believe it is worth it to deal with uncomfortable conversations as we spread awareness about racism and try to change it.
We believe our BIPOC members should be able to share things that hurt them in the sailing world and to find comfort here when sharing those things with their fellow sailors.
We want to create an open space for others to share practical tools on how they’ve created more inclusive environments in their own clubs and made positive change.
We will allow others to acknowledge global events that touch on these issues that tap into their experiences on the water.
As painful as the split from the former PNW group was, the discomfort of that split pales in comparison to what the experience is like for a person of color to step on a dock, get on a boat, walk through a club, or participate in a race where they are continuously made to feel uncomfortable.
We unequivocally assert that Black Lives Matter. We must and will always stand up for our most vulnerable members.
If a subgroup branches off and uses language that is harmful to our members, we must address it.
If a subgroup makes a mission statement or has guidelines that are blatantly different from ours, we must address it.
Thank you for your patience, your support, and for being here.
What makes Women Who Sail so special has always been the resilient, intelligent, and amazing women who share and participate, lifting one another up through calm and stormy seas.
Ahead, we have ideas to inspire more important dialogues around gender with groups like US Sailing and the World Sailing Trust, and bring you more amazing programming like Maiden Mondays. As always we will provide a collaborative environment for tips and discussions where you can learn from one another. If you have any questions you can reach out to us directly at: info@womenwhosail.com.
Rest assured that we are moving forward and together, and we will continue to provide a safe space for Women Who Sail.
Warmly,
Ayme Sinclair
Women Who Sail CEO