At Eurobike’s Women in Cycling breakfast, new survey results revealed persistent gender gaps in Germany’s bicycle industry — from pay and leadership roles to venture funding. Speakers urged action through mentoring, flexible work, and even positive discrimination to boost women’s representation and career prospects.
Among the seven people on stage at the Leaders’ Summit at Eurobike, the only woman was the moderator. This contrasted with the lineup at the Women in Cycling breakfast held at the show, where about 200 mostly female participants heard data from a new survey about women in the German bicycle industry. Angela Francke, professor of cycling and local mobility at Universität Kassel, showed that women made up about 22 percent of employees in production and distribution, and 43 percent in administration. When asked about the percentage of women in their company’s management, the respondents estimated it was about 30 percent. But women made up just 18 percent of employees earning more than €90,000 per year.
Speaking at te Women in Cycling breakfast, Amélie Guicheney, co-founder and chief executive at Gaya, advocated for positive discrimination to make sure women are more strongly represented in the industry. “If you can handle a newborn, you can run a company,” said Guicheney, who launched the French cargo bike firm after the birth of her first child five years ago. Gaya has sold about 8,000 units so far.
Only about 2 percent of venture funding is invested in start-ups led by women, and the percentage is probably lower in cycling, said Elisa Chiu, a former hedge funder who now heads up Anchor Asia, a VC platform connecting corporations and start-ups to investors to spur cross-border innovation. “This determines what we build,” said Chiu, who launched Bike Venture in partnership with Taipei Cycle last year.
Women in the cycling industry are apparently motivated. About 65 percent of respondents in the German survey would like to get more training, and 35 percent are eager to build their career in the cycling industry. But the German survey showed that women more often feel they are held back by a lack of opportunities for career development, unequal pay and distribution of tasks between men and women, and the lack of role models.
Speaking after a more detailed presentation of the German survey was Andrea Kurz, chief people and sustainability officer at Job Rad. She advised that employers who want to benefit from diversity could be coached to become more receptive to the requirements of female employees, and to be more aware of their unconscious bias. The German survey showed that the priorities of female employees are higher and equal pay, flexible working hours and remote options, as well as mentoring, networks and visible role models. Conducted from April to June, the survey involved 680 female and male participants from nearly all parts of the industry. It was supported by ZIV (the German Bicycle Association), the Hochschule RheinMain and Women in Cycling Germany.
Francke wants to get more data that will allow for more precise breakdowns in the years ahead. She added that the Women in Cycling network in Germany could help spread research in other European countries. Les Femmes à Vélo, the French organization, has launched such a project for delivery later this year.