This isn't one woman's story...
The fight for gender equality in cycling is an ongoing process. For many women who participate and compete in this sport, it's a constant battle that never relents. Sometimes it's obvious by comments that are made and debates that are sparked, but more often it is a quiet battle that is happening Every. Single. Day.
Hundreds of cyclists attend bike events on the weekends both large and small, competitive and noncompetitive, local and out-of-town, domestic and international. The physical and mental preparation happens days/weeks/months in advance: training schedules, diet choices, equipment purchases, mechanical upkeep, financial commitments, travel plans, life-work balance, and family obligations, etc. These weekends often entail more than just packing the car and driving to a bike race. Many of us have to make financial and personal sacrifices to attend cycling events because we love the sport, the environment, and the community.
For some, however, there is a whole other level of sacrifice, commitment, and struggle that plays into this story. As a female cyclist, I often feel an added "burden" when it comes to bike racing. I'm not saying this to garner pity or make anyone feel "guilty" about the situation; however, it is something that should be addressed and discussed. It's part of this story and brings to light many of the issues that arise when it comes to women's sports in general.
Like many competitive cyclists, I dedicate a large portion of my week to training and race preparation. That means working with a coach, maintaining a specific training, meal, and sleep schedule (or at least attempting to); planning work and personal obligations around training and racing; saving for and spending money on cycling equipment; and beating up my body each weekend as I battle it out with the best-of-the-best. That is Part 1 of my "responsibility" as a competitive cyclist (may it be career-based or simply a hobby), and it's rather typical. All of the things mentioned above are choices I make and have made to participate in a sport that I enjoy. Part 2, however, is about being a woman in the cycling world which has additional, hidden responsibilities.
On top of all of things I do as a competitive cyclist, along with going to work and participating in a marriage (many women also have families and other obligations that play into this), I also "work" as an ambassador for women's cycling. Yes, some of this is by choice (because I enjoy it), but some of it is because I believe that it is imperative to the future of our sport, as well all to all of the female athletes and advocates who have come before me. This is also "by choice" but holds more weight since the result of not doing it could be detrimental to a larger group outside of myself. In short, it affects others and that is way more important than my personal goals and results.
So what is this added "work" that I speak of? It's all of the "stuff" that women (female athletes) have to do to advocate for and promote their sport in addition to training, racing, and preparing for competition. For example, I co-own an event company with my husband (CFH Adventures & Events, LLC), manage a women's cycling team (Vanderkitten-Entourage Racing), act as the Women's Committee Chair for my region (MABRA), plan and coordinating events for women in the area with other folks and groups, read and send countless emails that address the state of women's cycling, update social media pages and posts to promote women in our sport, work with local directors and promoters to get more women involved in events, speak with brands and companies about women's cycling initiatives, go to battle (when necessary) for gender equity and equal opportunity in cycling, and so much more. This is the same story for many female athletes around the country and world.
What is the point of addressing this? It's to demonstrate that for women in the cycling world there is often an added "responsibility" on top of everything else to not only prepare for and participate in events but to also advocate for and take part in the promotional side of it. So often I hear comments like: "Where are all the women?" or "You need to tell your friends to sign-up for this race!" or "If women aren't going to come then we will just get rid of their fields." Yeah, that's helpful. Rarely do I hear the alternative comments: "How can we get more women to come to our event?" or "What can we do to promote to women?" or "How can we make our event better/more attractive/more open to women?" There's a difference. The former is passive (placing responsibility elsewhere and finding no positive solution) while the latter is active (taking on the responsibility and working to find a viable solution). Yes, on some level, it is the responsibility of everyone involved to make events successful. However, it is NOT--I REPEAT IT IS NOT--the sole responsibility of women (and female participants) to make this happen for women's cycling.
Wait, it's not the responsibility of the participant or customer to promote an event or product? No, it's not. In the same way that it isn't the responsibility of a consumer to market or advertise for a company. That would be like a clothing brand getting upset with its customers for lack of sales. It's the company's job to promote and market its products, and in this case it's the responsibility of event organizers to promote/market/advertise their races to ALL potential participants, including women and junior girls. That's what it means to be a promoter. I know this because I am one AND I have been immersed in the world of promotion my entire life. My father works in the music industry as a talent agent and, as part of his job, works closely with music promoters. Promotion is promotion no matter the event, activity, product, audience, platform, whatever. The purpose is to get more people interested in whatever it is that is being sold or organized. It is a tough job and a thankless one. People don't always understand the time and work that goes into promotion, but it is an extremely important piece of event organizing. However, the message here is that event promotion is NOT the primary responsibility of participants (especially female participants). It is the responsibility of the promoter. PERIOD!
Recently, I was speaking with some fellow female cyclists and women's cycling advocates about this topic, and we decided to put together a "How To" list of ideas for directors and promoters who want to engage more female participants in their events:
So you want more women to come to your event...
Invite women on your club/team to be co-directors and co-promoters.
Reach out to local or regional women's cycling organizations and groups (like the MABRA Women's Committee or Team-Not-Team).
Work with women's brands and companies as sponsors and partners.
Speak with women of various categories, fields, and ages to get ideas and input.
Offer equal opportunities (payout, schedule, fields, categories, time slots, etc) for women who participate in your event.
Block off a certain number of spots in the Beginner (Cat 5) field for women.
Express an overall desire to have more women participate in your event.
Have a registration goal for women and share progress publicly.
Post pictures of women on your club/team and at your event.
In general, maintain active social media accounts (FB and Instagram at a minimum) and designate people (men and women) to run them. Post about planning and course design, sponsors and partners, prizes and swag, etc. Overall, act EXCITED about engaging folks of all genders, cultures, and backgrounds in your event.
In conclusion, I'd like to take a moment to shout-out to and thank all of my fellow female cyclists and women's cycling advocates who work tirelessly week after week, month after month, year after year to make our sport equal and fair (in all ways possible) for women and girls, as well as those who are fighting for countless other equal rights causes. It's important to also recognize the organizers, directors, promoters, officials, volunteers, and participants of ALL genders who fight for gender equity and equal opportunity in our sport. Together we will make a difference. Together we will change the world.
Much thanks goes out especially to Anna Doorenbos (Team-Not-Team) and Jenna Latour-Nichols (Philly Bike Expo & Trek Bicycles Arlington Clarendon) for their help and support with our MABRA Women's CX Clinics this season.
*Stay tuned for my upcoming post on event promotion along with information about the DIRTY KITTEN GRAVEL RACE, a gnarly-gravel-adventure event that my husband (Chris Howell) and I co-direct and co-promote in Rapidan, Virginia.
Save the Date: July 25, 2020