A coalition of industry and NGOs have united to establish the Women in Cycling platform to boost equality and diversity in the traditionally male dominated cycling sector.
Urban mobility is undergoing a series of rapid changes, with cycling growing by double digits in many cities in Europe and across the world. Greater gender balance and inclusivity must play an integral role in all aspects of this development. Women in Cycling will be kicked off today at a digital event starting at 3pm CET with more than 800 registered participants.
Women in Cycling is a new initiative launched by Cycling Industries Europe, of whose market research expert group Sports Marketing Surveys is a founder member, the European Cycling Federation, Velokonzept, Mobycon and CONEBI. The initiative aims to help women to get more visibility, impact and leading roles in the cycling sector. Sports Marketing Surveys’ Hannah Sprake, who leads the SMS team that powers the Market Data Service on behalf of the Bicycle Association, is a founder member of the Women in Cycling group.
The idea for the initiative hails from a Thought Leaders Breakfast industry event where in a room packed with 300 men in suits the question was raised: “Where are all the women?”. A handful of women attending the breakfast meeting got together afterwards and started planning a women’s network for the sector. Another group led by ECF and Mobycon had already started to work on the topic of equality and cycling and the two groups joined forces to form a coalition of industry and NGOs working together.
The key aim of WIC is to boost equality and diversity in the cycling sector. The network provides a platform which will help facilitate a higher presence of women in boards, panels, conferences, interviews and jobs. Mentoring, training and sharing of good practice will be on the agenda along with an Expertise Portal where women working in the sector can sign up and where anyone can search for women for keynotes, panels, expertise, jobs, board positions or simply for networking with peers.
The vision of Women In Cycling is for a diverse, inclusive cycling sector that provides equal opportunities and contributes to cycling achieving its full potential.
Women in Cycling aims to:
- Create an empowering platform for women from all parts of the sector with opportunities to network, exchange views and experiences, and collaborate on projects and initiatives that help achieve our
- Encourage organisations in the sector to adopt targets and policies that improve diversity and gender balance and increase the representation of women in leadership roles.
- Campaign for no more all male panels at cycling sector events.
- Ensure the diverse experiences of women are taken into account and represented in decision making bodies, projects and processes that affect the sector.
The launch event will kick-off the network digitally with an inspirational and networking approach and provide an opportunity for participants to talk with some of their peers. Attendees will hear all about the network, have an opportunity to sign up to the Women in Cycling Expertise Portal, meet WIC ambassadors and hear inspirational stories from women across the sector. Bonnie Tu, one of the most senior figures in the industry, will be giving an opening address and tell about her experience launching a brand exclusively for women and heading up one of the world’s largest bicycle brands.
To learn more about cycling research or the market data service, please contact hannah.sprake@sportsmarketingsurveys.com
