A Manifesto for Women in Cycling

8th March, 2023

How many women bike? How many women work in the cycling sector? What roles do these women play? The data are rare, dated, and incomplete. What’s clear is that, whatever their skills, qualities, characteristics, and talents, women are still underrepresented in the sector. And that applies to both riders and professionals. We, riders, supporters, and professionals in the cycling sector, demand the rightful and legitimate place of all women in the cycling economy and on the streets!

Through this manifesto, we are calling for real change, at all levels and from everyone. We must first deconstruct gender stereotypes and fight against the gender-based and sexual violence targeting women cyclists. And for parity to become a reality, the entire cycling ecosystem must take action.

The stakes are social, economic and environmental: the future of cycling must be built with and for women.

More women in the bicycle industry

All women must have access to all jobs in cycling. We must:

Actively promote cycling as a career to young girls and women, at every stage of their educational and professional careers, including to women who are unemployed.
Train employment advisers on the need and career opportunities for women in the bicycle industry.
Put an end to gender stereotyping in the bicycle industry by raising awareness among training organizations, companies, and people in training.
Encourage training organizations and companies to train and recruit more women.

Women entrepreneurs in the cycling sector must be supported. We must:

Create networks of women that foster mutual support, sisterhood, and professional development.
Design and launch schemes dedicated to supporting women in entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship in the cycling world, including in the craft sector.
Set up an investment fund dedicated to women entrepreneurs in cycling.

The bicycle industry must move towards gender parity, at all levels of responsibility and in all professions. We must:

Apply parity across all governance and decision making bodies.

Promote pioneering companies in the field of parity and support the sharing of best practices.
Build bridges with other sectors facing the same problems.
Adapt all work tools and environments to women's physical characteristics.
Encourage and support more women to take up long-term positions of responsibility.

Women working in the bicycle industry must be given fair and equal recognition, particularly in public speaking engagements. We must:

Ensure that all cycling events, whether professional or public (trade fairs, conferences, symposia, summits), include the equal representation for women.
Identify and support women who are experts and skilled at public speaking.
Create awards that celebrate women’s contributions and achievements in the sector.

More women on bikes

All women must be able to get around by bike, regardless of their age, their circumstance, or where they live, without guilt or fear for their safety. We must:

Put an end to the gendered messaging of bicycles marketed as specifically for women and girls.

Build bicycles and everyday accessories adapted to women's bodies, which are not defined by a higher price or a color, but by technical and functional adaptations.
Enable access, especially financially, to bicycles adapted to all uses.

The public sector must create safe and inclusive public spaces for women, with adapted facilities and equipment. We must:

Systematically take women’s recommendations into account in order to design cycling and cycle tourism facilities adapted to their needs and the needs of families.
Encourage the public sector to develop budgets with a gender-inclusive approach in order to guarantee gender equality.
Include the gender dimension when procuring design and development projects for cycling.

Efforts and commitments must be made to educate and train people to ride bicycles. We must:

Educate girls and boys in cycling from an early age, on the use of public space and basic cycle mechanics, so that girls and boys receive the same knowledge.
Amplify the Savoir Rouler À Vélo program and expand it to middle and high schools.
Develop bike schools and workshops aimed at getting women in particular back in the saddle.
Make general bike maintenance more accessible through dedicated workshops.

The cycling world and public sector must improve and increase communications encouraging women to cycle more widely. We must:

Adapt the messaging to present bicycles as an appropriate everyday solution for travel for women, including at night.
Amplify festivals and public events that encourage cycling, while also organizing and publicizing more cycling events by/for women.
Regularly launch communication campaigns on the street, in schools, and in bicycle stores to encourage all women, in all their diversity, to cycle.
Highlight inspiring role models, iconic figures, and portraits of women why cycle to inspire girls and women to take up cycling.

To achieve this, regular data collection and analysis is imperative. We must:

Carry out quantitative and qualitative studies on the evolving role of women, in all their diversity, in cycling professions and activities.
Develop a barometer for measuring gender equality in cycling professions and activities.
Measure and assess the impact of actions implemented to promote the role of women in cycling professions and activities.

Bicycles are a powerful tool of freedom, independence, and emancipation for the girls and women who ride them. For many, they are also vehicles for professional development and personal autonomy and provide a solution to many of the complex challenges our society faces. But change is only possible through a massive and united mobilization of passionate and committed women and men. So together, let us seize these opportunities and make cycling and the industry an exemplary model of mobilization.

This manifesto is signed and supported by professionals, stakeholders, riders, supporters, elected representatives and decision-makers in the bicycle economy:

With the support of Clément Beaune, the Minister for Transport, and Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A Manifesto for Women in Cycling 8th March, 2023