women belong in all places where decisions are being made
4 minute read
I often hear (mostly from straight, white able-bodied men) that we should focus solely on positive messages about cycling. The joy, the freedom and the independence it brings and avoid talk of any barriers – namely safety.
Trust me, I am all for this but the reality is many studies show that one of the main reasons why many girls, women and non-binary people do not cycle is because we do not feel safe. Whether is the lack of quality infrastructure, or the fear of harassment and worse – some of us are terrified. Research from 2015 showed that female cyclists are almost twice as likely as their male counterparts to be subjected to harassment or bad driving. In light of the tragedies we have witnessed this past month and the government’s proposed Police & Crime Bill that affords more protection to statues than it does to women, our fears deserve to be acknowledged and should not be ignored in favour of the male marketing gaze of blissfully traversing the city by bike.
Safety and cycling is multi-faceted as is outlined by this excellent Guardian article from last month written by Kate Jelly – Want to make the streets safer for women? Start with cycling.
However, this sentence particularly resonated with me – “We have normalised a society in which men can move around as they please while the rest of us fear for our lives for the simple act of travelling home.”
Caroline Criado Perez looks into how our transport systems, and in fact every other system, prioritise men in the first chapter of her outstanding book, Invisible Women. Like Kate, she explains that women are statistically more likely to make multi-modal and multi-trip journeys because of us bearing the brunt of caring and household responsibilities like looking after children or food shopping. The list goes on.
As this is the case, you would reasonably expect that women therefore have an essential and influential role in the development and design of our transport infrastructure and associated delivery programmes. Yet despite being involved in Derby’s cycling sector for two years and attending countless meetings, I am still yet to come across a woman responsible for such decisions.
In light of the recent recruitment of three men to senior management roles within Derby City Council’s Traffic & Transportation department, I have spent the past few months asking for a basic staff organogram to better understand the demographic diversity of those tasked with managing our transport network. On a practical level I am also keen to know who oversees what so as a sector we can streamline communication. However, like many of my e-mails, sadly this has been ignored.
Based on our research and experience, I know that out of 104 female and non-binary respondents across Derby only 9 felt their views and needs are taken into account when infrastructure is designed and implemented. I also know that all cycling delivery organisations in Derby are led by white men. I know that later this month there will be a partner meeting which will be attended by six men and one woman. I asked if I could join to represent Spoke Out given that we also deliver cycling initiatives in the city but once again my request has been ignored. This was most likely because I also asked for assurance that the meeting would be conducted in a respectful and inclusive manner given that I have experienced ongoing sexual harassment from a male Sustrans employee. At the start of the last partner meeting I attended in my former work role, he said “I’m going to say something sexist now. Women look better in lyrca“. I guess asking not to repeatedly witness sexism at work was a step too far and, as always, silence is the best solution.
There are more people called Steve, Dave or John in our city’s cycling sector than there are women and non-binary people. As lovely as many of them are, they will most likely never know what it feels like to have to plan a route home specifically to avoid being sexually harassed, what it feels like to be in a meeting where no-one else looks like you or what it feels like to always be excluded from decisions simply because of who you are and what you believe in.
The point of this post is not to further scare and deter girls and women from cycling on our streets, or to blame men, but it is to highlight that if we really want to see a modal shift in transport choices and to encourage more people to cycle then the voices and needs of 51% of the population must be listened to and must influence the decisions. Not just via a survey open to everyone and sent out on Twitter a couple of times, but through carefully targeted focus groups, strategic consultations and at management level within our local authority and cycling organisations.
The late and great Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the infamous words which form the title of this post 12 years ago. Like her, I just want women to have a seat at the table, a light on that dark cycle lane or marketing material where we see ourselves. In 2021, why are we still being ignored and why does this still feel like so much to have to ask for?
Lucy
founder | spoke out
p.s No offence to any men called Steve, Dave or John. Steve from British Cycling is actually the only man who ever replies to our e-mails for which we are very grateful. Thanks Steve, it means a lot.