It’s no secret that American women are less likely than American men to ride bikes in cities. Certain reports put one woman on a bike for every four men in America. In European counties like Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark, the split is around fifty-fifty. How does America decrease the gender gap? This is an on-going constant debate. In short, a stronger biking environment – making bike stores friendlier to women, stronger infrastructure, safety, convenience, and community.
In the last few years, there’s been a huge momentum, nationwide in decreasing the gender gap and to get more women to ride bikes. Last September, I had the great opportunity to travel to California to attend two Conferences: Alliance for Biking & Walking Leadership Retreat and the 2012 Pro Walk / Pro Bike /Pro Place Conference. During both of these conferences, there were working sessions and a designated ‘Women’s Forum,’ completely dedicated to ways to empower more women to ride. After those two conferences, I came back to Columbus and knew what I wanted to do – organize the first Ohio Women’s Bicycling Summit. I also knew the two women who would jump at the opportunity to help me: Trek Bike Stores’ Operational Manager – Mimi Webb and Landscape Architect and Principal of CYP Studios – Jeannie McKenna Martin.
The mission of the Summit is simple: Engage, empower, and active more women in Ohio to ride bikes. The inaugural Summit will take place Friday, May 10th from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm at the Goodale Park Shelter House. We have presenters coming in from Toledo and Cleveland as well as local speakers. The presenters will discuss a broad range of barriers / topics that have contributed to fewer women riding but also share best practices, experiences, and advice on how to overcome these barriers. Topics include clothing, economic benefits of the bicycle, the bicycle being a reliable mode of transportation, mechanics and jargon, Safe Routes to School, healthy communities, and more. We are lucky to have the names of speakers such as Lisa Hinson & Tammy Krings, Ohio’s First Lady Karen Kasich, Representative Teresa Fedor, Lindsey Bower and other inspiring women speaking.
It’s no doubt that the future success of cities will depend upon choice when it comes to transportation options and how we move throughout our cities. The future face of bicycle-friendly cities will be whether women and families feel safe riding our streets.
For more information and to register for this event, please go to www.ohiowbs.org.
Photo by Yassi Shakibi.
