In this presentation to the 2014 Iowa Bicycling Summit, League Women Bike director Carolyn Szczepanski shares some of the common misconceptions about women & bicycling — and some top line ideas to improve marketing and communications. Learn more at bikeleague.org/womenbike

1. Women on
a Roll
Marketing Bicycling to
Women; Increasing
Female Ridership
Photo by Martha Williams

2. Women Bike aims to change the face of bicycling by creating pathways for women of
all backgrounds to embrace bicycling and participate as riders, advocates and leaders

3. Women on a Roll
First Women Bike report
Compiles more than 100
data points
Identifies barriers and
opportunities to get more
women riding

5. Myth: Women are a homogeneous group
WOMEN BIKE

6. Myth:
Women don’t
like bikes

7. Myth:
Women aren’t concerned
about biking as a
community issue

8. Myth:
Women don’t
commute by bike

9. Myth:
Women don’t ride
as much as men

10. Myth:
Women aren’t engaged
in advocacy

11. Myth:
Women are a
bicycling minority

12. Myth:
Women bicyclists
are no different
than men

13. Myth:
Women aren’t absolutely,
positively essential to
mainstreaming bicycling

14. Myth: Gender parity isn’t possible
Myth:
Gender parity
isn’t possible
Netherlands = 55% women

15. 2012
2013
Engaging more women =
Leading edge of bike advocacy
2012: Two-hour panel, 200 attendees
2013: Full-day event, 400 participants
2014: Join us on March 3!

16. Motivations
TOP 3 REASONS WOMEN RIDE
>> Fun (73%) >> Fitness (69%) >> Recreation (45%)

17. Motivations
Riding for health
>> 93% of Seattle women said cycling is “great
exercise and keeps me in shape”

18. Motivations
Riding with family
>> Women (31%) are significantly more likely to ride
as a family activity than men (18%)

19. Motivations
Riding for social connection
>> 42% of women say they’d ride more if they had
people to ride with

20. Motivations
Riding for empowerment
>> 3,100+ riders for Rapha Women’s 100 >> 36% of
2012 USA Triathlon members were women

21. Messaging
>> 5 Cs to More Women Riding…
>> Comfort
>> Convenience
>> Confidence
>> Consumer products
>> Community

22. Messaging
Don’t change
how people
THINK
Change how
people FEEL

23. Messaging
Tell STORIES

24. Messaging
Be
VISUAL

25. Messaging
It’s NOT about the
bike, or the ride, or
the cycle track, or
the law, or the trail,
or the bike plan, or
the education class…

26. Messaging
What are we
REALLY
selling?

27. Messaging
It’s NOT about the
bike, or the ride, or
the cycle track, or
the law, or the trail,
or the bike plan…

28. Media
3/4 of women online use social media
72% of online women use Facebook
(62% of men)
Female bicyclists are more likely than male cyclists to have a Facebook (85% vs 64%) and
Twitter (34% vs 24%) account

29. Women are more active on
Pintrest and Instagram
Media
Pintrest:
25% of
online
women
Instagram:
15% of
online
women

30. Media
Word of mouth:
67% of women follow
up when sent a news
item by a friend or
family
Women are 56% more
likely than men to share
or like what others post
on social media

31. Media
Who are your
MESSENGERS?
>> on your website
>> featured in your materials
>> in leadership
Photo of Janette Sadik-Khan, by Derin Thorpe, courtesy of Momentum magazine

32. Women Bike: Join Us!
Attend the
National Women’s
Bicycling Forum
bikeleague.org/forum
March 3, 2014
Use our resources
bikeleague.org/womenbike
Subscribe to our E-news
bikeleague.org/womenbike
Join our community
facebook.com/womenbike
@womenbike | #womenbike
Contact
carolyn@bikeleague.org