Globally, much fewer women ride bikes than men. The differential can be 3-4 fold, depending on which country you are in.

Research – some of it summarised here – has shown barriers to greater female cycling participation include a lack of other female riders on desired routes, anxiety about being hassled, and not feeling safe on roads shared with vehicle traffic.

It is for such reasons that women have shown a strong preference for separated bike lanes, well-lit paths, vehicle speed limits, restricted on-road car parking, and good connections to public transport and bike parking facilities.

Yet more kilometres of separated bike paths and broader gender-sensitive cycling infrastructure alone are not enough to shift the female cycling participation needle, according to a recent French study.

Vital cogs: proactive engagement and transparent advocacy

While these were important, the study found integrated ‘bike systems’ and a supportive bike culture were just as important in encouraging the behaviour change required to enable more women to ride bikes and encourage “the normalisation of cycling”.

This translated to “…the promotion of comfort and enjoyment in cycling, and proactive engagement by public authorities, characterised by transparent advocacy for cycling and grounded in principles of participatory democracy,” the investigation of 53 French cities found.

“As a result, the equation for achieving a more equitable gender distribution in cycling encompasses not only the proportion of cycling infrastructure, but also variables related to the city’s proactive efforts, the overall perception, comfort levels, safety, and the availability of supporting services and parking facilities.”

Cities like Paris, Copenhagen, Seville, Portland, Minneapolis and Canberra are examples of what can be achieved when municipal authorities back gender-sensitive architecture with genuine intent for active transport change.  

Go here to access WestCycle’s Women on Wheels initiatives.