Son says "How can cycling be considered inappropriate for women???"

Youngest son Sofian, 14 yrs, was wondering what the presentation that I am preparing for the round table session for Velo-city next wednesday, will be about.

I tell him about gender inequality in cycling in many countries in the world and some of the reasons for it. He can not believe that cycling could possibly be inappropriate for women and says "I think it is peculiar. How can cycling be considered inappropriate???"

I am happy to hear his opinion about this and see his surprised face.

Then I give him a short version of women & cycling history in the Netherlands. Where 100 years ago (and less) cycling was also not seen as an activity that should be stimulated for women. Found an old picture on the web from that period. Man rides, woman is taken...

(members.multimania.nl)

Still there are specific groups of women here for whom cycling is not self-evident. Like immigrant and refugee women. Thank you, people of Velo-city, for allowing me a discussion with cycling experts on how to change this in many places!

My message for UN Women

On the 24th February UN Women has been launched. On the 8th of March we celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. A reason for the Guardian, Global Development to start gathering pictures with messages for UN Women.
You can send your message in a picture to them and many of them are being published in the Flickr Group.


Here is my message to this group:

I live in the Netherlands. Almost all women cycle here. Except expats, immigrants and refugees. In many countries women are not allowed to bicyle or they are strongly discouraged. As cycling seems to be considered a masculine activity in many places. But cycling is a perfect sustainable way to move around. Also with children, shoppings, etc!

Benefits of more women and girls involved in cycling go beyond the personal level

Sure, it is good to look at the personal level first. Without direct personal benefit it would be hard to promote cycling.

Women that pick up cycling feel empowered by their active participation in an activity that used to be connected with 'masculine' values. Also, they break the stereotypes that enforce the idea that women should remain in private space, that they should limit their activities, and that they should always be accompanied in order to feel safe.

Many women that use the bicycle save money (money that they would normally use to pay for transportation) and time. This extra time will often not only benefit the woman herself, but also her family. She might be able to work more hours and earn more money. Or she has more time to help the children with their homework, or whatever she feels she should do with this extra time.

Another imported one is that a healthier lifestyle, doing daily exercise, eliminates illnesses caused by lack of movement that normally affect the working class in modern cities. In Santiago (Chili) the percentage of women with this sedentary lifestyle is over 75%. Age 10-24 it is already 76,3% as described in the Carpeta Digital by Macleta.

On the political level more women on bicycles would oblige the people that construct the public politics and plans of the city to take into account the specific necessities that women, and the people they accompany, have to move about in the city. This is taking into account that these people generally know the cities, their difficulties, and necessities (better than the planners).

And the societal benefits, do I need to mention them?

In short. The use of the bicycle decreases the air contamination and CO2 emissions. Less room for parking space, less speedy traffic. The bicycle also permits us to move within the city in a distinct manner, with more contact with people, the dynamics, and the problems that each city presents. It promotes a larger independence to move about, without depending on economic factors. And there are less public health costs.

Statements from women that learned cycling as an adult

“The bike opens us the door to a new world”

Says a former student of the “Aprende A Pedalear” workshop by Todas en Bici in Quito (Ecuador)

“I used to walk for half an hour to work every day. Now, I use a bicycle and reach in 15 minutes. Also, earlier I used to work in four houses now I am able to work in six since my commuting time from house to house has decreased to half.”

Sumitra, domestic worker and former student of the Bicycle Partnership Program in Delhi (India)

“It has to do with my freedom. In Turkey I could go anywhere independently. In the Netherlands bicycling was the only way to regain my freedom of movement.”

Dilek, a former student of the ‘Stap op de Fiets’ course in Tilburg (Netherlands).

“I learned cycling, so I can learn anything!” 

Judith, a former student of the ‘Stap op de Fiets’ course in Tilburg.

“Now that I know the rules of traffic for cyclists I can explain my child why I sometimes go through a red traffic light when I make a right turn.”

A former student of the ‘Stap op de Fiets’ course in Tilburg.

"The training was very good. Towards the end we actually went on the road, properly on the road. It did make sense having the training. We do need to learn to share the space. Make sure you are assertive in the middle of the road, don't go to the side."

Kudielela, a former student of the Cycling for Women project by WDS in London (UK).

"As well as the bikes, getting the goodie box, the lock..., oh that was wonderful..... It means a lot to me to be able to cycle and it really did make a lot of difference having the bike and the kit provided to me, because I am the kind of person who gets easily defeated if everything isn't just there and ready to go, having to make decisions about what sort of thing do I need. Anyway, it was just brilliant help to have support with all of that."

Sheila, a former student of the Cycling for Women project by WDS in London.

“My experience with “Aprende a Pedalear” was sensational. I never had climbed on a bicycle before, and I was so afraid of falling and being seen as ridiculous in a society seeped in sexism like ours. Furthermore I thought that my time had passed, because it’s been a while since I had the age in which one normally learns certain things (including riding a bike), and, specifically, there wasn’t anywhere to do it because nobody thought about those of us who didn’t know how. For these reasons I didn’t want to lose the opportunity and I registered for the workshops that you all organized in July 2008. My main challenge was to demonstrate that it’s never too late to learn or achieve what one wishes to achieve; I always had my family’s support; the respect, care, patience, knowledge and dedication of my instructors and my decision to learn and overcome the taboos and fears that we ourselves believed in. Now my bike rides are a great therapy, I enjoy them intensely, I almost feel as if I’m flying, experiencing more freedom and independence, I see life from another perspective and I try to recuperate all the time lost not riding a bike. Every time I can I let people know about this magnificent life experience, to motivate more people to participate and it makes me happy that these experiences aren’t only mine: many of my fellow classmates have graduated and expressed the same feelings as me and appreciated the amazing opportunity to have learned a new, important and inseparable friend and companion: the bicycle.”

Ruth Enriquez, former student of the “Aprende A Pedalear” workshop in Quito (Ecuador)

Six reasons why women cycle less than men

Various sexual prejudices exist that historically have given many privileges to men, giving them numerous advantages in all aspects of life; these historic advantages are fundamental for the analysis that we present in our essay ‘Balance on the Bike’. They mark important differences in the conceptions about bicycle use and the occupations of public space differentiated for gendered groups.

1. Women and men have different needs in transport and mobility

A study in Lima (Gómez 2000) revealed the differences between men and women in the selection criteria for the form of transport. Figure 2 shows that for women ‘personal security’, ‘road safety’ and ‘expenses’ are the top three selection criteria, whereas for men these are ‘speed’, ‘road safety’ and ‘order’. Furthermore, in the criteria women use ‘speed’ is not mentioned; in the men’s criteria ‘expenses’ is not mentioned. These differences will influence the choice for different types of transport. If women would feel personally safe in the streets in Lima and the roads were safe, then cycling could be a good choice for women. For men however, the fact that they can be fast and safe on the bicycle in the city would be the most important.

2. Personal safety

Women’s need for personal safety in transport mode choice is not only relevant for the transport mode choice and not only in Lima; it is a global concern. “Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. (...) It takes place in the home, on the streets, in schools, the workplace, in farm fields, refugee camps, during conflicts and crises.” States the UNIFEM website. It continues: “Globally, up to six out of every ten women experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. (...) For women and girls from 16 – 44 years old, violence is a major cause of death and disability. (...) In 1994 a World Bank study on ten selected risk factors facing girls and women in this age group, found rape and domestic violence more dangerous than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war and malaria.”

3. Women’s place

In our societies there still exists a clear idea of women as being in charge of social reproduction, which places them as being responsible for taking care of the children, the homes, and family spending. In a great part of the world this role forces women to remain in private space. In other parts women have to carry out these reproductive as well as productive (paid) work. The productive work being in service of the survival and well􏰁being of the family and not meant to raise her status or the family’s status. This has resulted in a system that stimulates women to work nearby the home, so the combination of reproductive and productive work can be organized efficiently. This could have lead to a rise in the numbers of female cyclists, as cycling is a very efficient way to move around in the neighbourhood. In most countries the opposite is the case. Which may have to do with the fact that women in their reproductive work have to carry large packages (shopping) and accompany small children and or elders.

4. Women and mobility

Many women have been taught as a girl that being mobile, being out of the house, is not appropriate and suitable for them, but for their brothers and fathers. Mobility and cycling are associated with masculinity, speed, danger and freedom of movement. When in the streets, women should act discreet, not attracting too much attention. As a result many women haven’t learned to ride a bicycle, not even as a way of playing in the courtyard. Furthermore, to go out and ride a bike implicates to be in public space, move in the city, and not depend on any other person to get from place to place, be self sufficient and autonomous. These are aspects that are being considered outside the appropriate roles of women. This has limited the accessibility of women to bicycle use. Also, it has limited the number of affordable women’s bicycles in many countries, as the bicycle industry does not seem to see any priority in women’s bicycles.

5. Urban planning

Another important point of this analysis to consider is the construction of cities. Various countries, especially those that are developing and haven’t had the opportunity for urban planning and the countries that are very car centric, haven’t been well designed or haven’t taken into account the different necessities that women have. Women’s mobility is characterized by short chain trips, in order to combine all daily productive and reproductive tasks. Especially when realizing that women do often not travel alone (they take the responsibility of accompanying children and elderly that have even more specific necessities) it is clear that the construction of cities does not take women into account.

6. Poverty has a woman’s face

Furthermore, one should add the following important facts: in the world, the largest population that has less access to education, health and other services, and that experience poverty in higher rates are women (see e.g. Arrigiada 2005). Women represent 70% of the world’s poor (GCAP, 2010); all over the world women􏰁headed􏰁households form the majority of the group of poorest people. Also, women earn a lower wage for the same work men do, and jobs that are seen as ‘female’ earn less and have less status. Moreover, reproductive work ,which has been traditionally relegated to women, is outside the realm of monetary value and is therefore seen as valueless. There are various conditions that put women in this position. The weight of the social responsibility assigned to the female gender and the vertical occupational segmentation that puts women in charge of less responsibility at work than men and more responsibility for women in private life.

Is it true that more men than women use the bicycle? Yes...

And this is a worldwide phenomenon. In 2009 in Quito, 23% of the cyclists that use the bicycle as a means of transportation (at least) one day a week are women. In 2007 in Santiago de Chile 11% of the cyclists were women; in 2005 in a study in the city of Delhi 1000 people from the low income working class have been interviewed of whom only 2 bicycle users were women. Part of the other women interviewed knew how to cycle and had cycled in their home towns and villages, but stopped cycling after migrating to Delhi. Figures from cities in the United States show the same: in Chicago 32% of cyclists were women, in Pittsburgh 12% and in Jacksonville (FL) 9% (US Census 2000).

Apart from these statistics, that are not available in every country and citiy, there are many observations that men cycle more then women. “The UK's Department for Transport statistics show that there are roughly twice as many men who cycle than women. And transport authority Transport for London has found that for every five men who cycle regularly in London, there are only two women.” as the introduction to an action research study by Womens Design Service in London mentions. “In the U.S., men’s cycling trips surpass women’s by at least 2:1” states Linda Baker on the Scientific American website. Even in ‘Cycling Nation’ the Netherlands specific groups of women cycle very little. In the publication ‘Anders Onderweg’ Lucas Harms states “Especially immigrant women and Turks of the second generation bike less [then Dutch natives]”.

Balance on the Bike

The start of this blog in English is the result of an intense cooperation with Ma. Fernanda Porras from Ecuador and Claire Stoscheck from the US. Over the last months we have been writing an essay called 'Balance on the Bike' that will be published by I-CE in the Netherlands.

In this essay we intend to rethink the reasons why women are still in the minority in comparison to men in the context of bicycle-use. It is a call to the cycling world to think twice before speaking about women and cycling - that it is important to look at the issue with a detailed and in-depth analysis and not leave it at the superficial level of fashion, as much of the mainstream media and mainstream biking world is doing. This debate must have more depth, and explore the root causes of why women are not cycling as much as men in almost all places in the world. Once we clearly define the root causes we can do the important work of changing the situation so as to bring women into the empowering world of cycling.

Along our way of writing the essay we came across inspiring projects and persons and we knew that we would not be able to tell the world about all of them. Also, in the time to come more examples that we want to share will arise. So, there the idea to start writing a blog came up. It is our aim to publish stories of women and girls who learned cycling, of women that picked up cycling again, to share pictures, links and initiatives, like cycling schools for women. All things that we think are relevant to reach more balance on the bike = cycling equally accessible for women and men.