How to get more women into gravel events -- and other musings

Me (Claire) in the white jersey with Atlanta buds Libby and Saskia to my left and Stamina Racing Collective buds Jenny, Madilynn, and Christina to my right at The Last Best Ride in Whitefish, Montana. August 2022.

“But what if women just don’t want to sign up?”

“Why force women to sign up for races if they don’t want to”

“Everyone is welcome, they’ll sign up if they want to”

These are some of the questions and pushback we get about why we promote women’s participation at events, but it’s not that simple.

We talked to some of the most influential women in gravel a few weeks ago on the podcast and I’ve included some highlights of the chat below. And just a note that I’ve paraphrased and combined some of the thoughts and quotes for space, as well as added some bits of my own. But if you want to hear their entire chat verbatim, you can listen here (or wherever you get your podcasts). And while this conversation was largely centered on women’s participation based on registration numbers (because those are the questions we seem to get most often), these themes and ideas are also relevant when thinking about inclusivity across the board, including BIPOC and LGBTQ+ participation.

The Hosts: 

Kristi Mohn — UNBOUND Gravel OG, and Girls Gone Gravel podcast co-host

Kathryn Taylor — Girls Gone Gravel Founder, and Podcast Co-Host, plus Feisty Media Chief of Staff

The Guests:  

Betsy Welch — Senior Editor at VeloNews

Michelle Duffy Smith — Marketing for Lifetime & UNBOUND Gravel

The questions discussed:  

Is parity (having equal numbers of men and women at events) still the goal?

Why aren’t we there?

What can we do?

Did we fail if we never get there?

Does it even matter at the end of the day?

If you’re short on time, here are my (Claire’s) cliffs notes:

While the numbers are a helpful metric to judge against, they aren’t the be-all, end-all. What’s more important is the entire ecosystem and ethos of an event. Are you (if you’re an event director) creating more opportunities for more people to attend your events? This can be in varying distances or varying degrees of difficulty in different courses. This could also be providing free childcare at events because that’s a huge barrier to entry for many new parents. It could also just be the overall vibe of your event dictating who’s showing up.

Also, look at your event marketing. Are you using language like “Bring the wife and kids”? Many people are going to feel excluded by that. Similarly, if you’re only using photos to advertise your event that show a bunch of “pro-looking” dudes riding through aid stations with bikini-clad women handing out water, this also sends a clear message about the type of riders you’re trying to attract & the vibe of your event. And yes, a major gravel series organizer did that (both of those examples actually!).

Another quick thing I want to address before diving into the longer conversation is this idea that gravel is already inherently inclusive, so there’s nothing more to do & women will sign up if they want to. This has come up a few times in social comments (not just on GGG accounts, but elsewhere as well). The truth is that not all people feel like they can just hop into a gravel ride or event, no matter what some folks seem to think (and let’s be honest, it is ALMOST ALWAYS cis white men who are making these comments). All forms of cycling feel very exclusive and not welcoming from the outside, no matter how nice and friendly you think you are. You look intimidating in your kit, helmet, and huge sunglasses when you clip in and ride away at the no-drop ride — you just do. So, if you’re one of those people who think their rides/events are already inclusive and there’s zero work to do, I want you to look around at your next ride (or next event you attend) and ask yourself: Does nearly everyone here look like me? If the answer is yes, then it’s likely not as inclusive as you think.

So, if you’re one of those organizers beating their heads against the wall trying to figure out why women aren’t signing up for your events, read on. It takes more than a social post or a discount (or priority registration for that matter).

At Grounded Nebraska in Roca, NE. June 2022.

now for the long version:

We need to celebrate the idea of parity and increasing women’s participation because the reality is that women DO want to participate in events. It’s just that in practice it’s more difficult -- from a societal point-of-view -- for many to get to start lines because of responsibilities at home: from giving birth & the effects on their bodies to being the primary caregiver and being expected to “take care of the home,” make dinners, etc, etc.  Not to mention that many women do all of that while working full-time (or more) jobs. The fact is that it’s just easier generally for fathers to take time away from the family to attend events. Does this apply to everyone? Of course not, but the trends are real.

So, the valuable piece of the approach is making sure that women feel not only welcomed, but supported at events and that they’re not going to be judged if they want to sign up for the 25-mile or 50-mile (or whatever) distances, even if those distances aren’t the “marquee” banner distances.

The key thing is that women (and men, and anyone else) can sign up for whatever distances they want. And that they know it’s OK if they never want to sign up for those massive distances because those require many more hours per week to train for & some people will never have enough time to make it work (or even want to dedicate that much time for that matter), and that’s OK. There doesn’t have to be a “force issue”; it’s OK to show up on start lines where you’re comfortable – whatever the distance is. And we’re getting way better at doing that.

But, as I’m sure many people reading this have experienced, often after someone completes one distance, the brain immediately starts churning with “well, that wasn’t as hard as I thought it’d be, so maybe I can do X distance next time?” So, race directors really need to be thinking about creating opportunities for people at all levels to enter the sport in a friendly supportive way, so they want to stick around. Sometimes it’s about the long game and making investments in the future of the sport, and not just trying to get more women into the massive distance and potentially burn out.

The fact is that we may never see a 50-50 split at the bigger distances – and that’s OK -- because there are races where you have 50-50 or more – with the smaller distances. And in looking at parity, we really must consider the entire space -- the entire ecosystem that makes up the ethos of an event. Currently, a lot of races hover around 30% women’s participation, and that’s a great number & we can probably continue to edge that up, but the 50-50 number across all distances will likely take a bigger societal change that we probably won’t see for some time.

The 25 and 50-mile UNBOUND events have much higher female participation numbers than the longer distances. And not just because they’re shorter. It’s more about those distances being something women are sure they can complete, so they can feel comfortable jumping in. And circling back to an earlier point, a lot of that may have to do with the fact that many women just don’t have as much time to train because they have a family or other responsibilities. They can commit to training for 50 miles, but 200 miles crosses the line into “endurance junkie” territory. And many women may just not be interested in that.

Ultimately, women like to see that they can do it, and race directors, brands, etc have to give them the opportunity to see it if they want them to show up. And the good news is that it’s not that hard – marketing and advertising for an event are huge, and not just social posts, but imagery and language on the event website as well. We get a lot of questions from race directors about why more women aren’t signing up for their events & what they can do about it, and then when we go look at the language and marketing around said events, it’s like “the world’s hardest race,” “the hardest race in (fill-in-the-blank state),” “this race is so bada$$ that almost no one finishes,” “you’re going to die at this event,” etc. (OK, that last one is a bit exaggerated, but you get the idea.)

That type of extreme language is not likely to attract a lot of women, who — as I said — tend to want to sign up for things they know they complete & tend to engage in the outdoors differently than men. Stripping out events, high-adrenaline activities tend to lean more male, and things like hiking, running, trail running, etc see higher female participation. (Obviously, this isn’t the case for everyone, but the data leans this way). Plus with extreme language like that, you’re definitely not attracting any newer cyclists (see earlier point about expanding the sport.)

Related, marketing language like “Bring the wife and kids for a fun weekend” just doesn’t fly or send a positive message. Put women in the marketing, women in the advertising, and think about the overall message you’re sending. Talk to the people you want to come to your event.

And speaking of social posts… If you’re mainly posting photos of the “pointy end” of the race and the podium finishers & pros, but not also including the post-race party, celebrating the last finishers, etc, then that’s sending a clear message that your event is for racing & podiums and that’s what you value, so it may not be a race for newer cyclists. If that’s what you want, then fine. But it’s not really the spirt of gravel! (You didn’t think you could read this whole article without a mention of the spirit of gravel, did you?!)

The good news is that there’s already been a bit of a culture shift within events themselves – meaning that race directors genuinely want to do better and make sure that their events are inclusive, which is better for everyone and better for the sport. And that’s where you make the real change; it can’t just be a checked box. And we shouldn’t be so focused on looking at the numbers for one race or just one distance because if we look at the portfolio (in the case of this discussion on the podcast, it was all Lifetime gravel events and distances within those races), and ensure that we are creating more opportunities for women to participate across the board – and that’s what matters.

It’s OK if we never get to 50-50 participation, but the point is that we’ve done everything we can to create the space and opportunity. Yes, that’s a hard thing to measure without the numbers, so the numbers will always be a goal, BUT the more important parts are in the details of how you’re thinking about your event and who you want to show up.

And it doesn’t matter if women (or anyone else) want to go for 25 or 200 miles or a podium spot or a fun day on the bike with friends, or making new friends. Those are all valid things, and one doesn’t make the others less so.

The end. Let us know what you think!