INTERVIEW
“Most day-to-day activity in the industry is about the bottom line and just keeping your head above water. Every day, another brand goes into administration, and here’s me swanning in, going, ‘hey, why don’t you launch an apprenticeship scheme to train more women to be bike and product reviewers?’ “And they’re like, “Okay, we get it. It’s a great idea, but we
haven’t got the spare capacity.” But that won’t ever stop me from saying it, and it won’t ever stop that conversation from happening. But it’s not that I don’t recognise the challenges.” When an industry has been as male-dominated and perhaps typically more of an enthusiast-based market, of course, it’s going to be difficult to look outside of that and try to market bikes to an unfamiliar demographic. But, that doesn’t mean the want isn’t there. “There is lots of evidence that women are chomping at the bit to get more engaged with the marketplace. Women’s events sell out in seconds flat. Women’s rallies, rides and tourism offers sell out really quickly. Women are spending money. “They’re hunting through the media. They’re following media. They’re just not doing it in the kind of mainstream way. There’s lots of evidence that this market is ready to be engaged with. And marketing experts who are not from cycling see it. They see it as it is.” What’s interesting from Spotswood’s latest research is that she identifies the need for people to come into the cycling industry who aren’t necessarily cyclists themselves. If we want to compete with the likes of the automotive industry and offer a real alternative to cars as modes of transport, then we need to think about bikes, demographics and marketing from less of an enthusiast perspective and more of a brand professional. “It’s a vicious cycle of representation, leadership, role models and participation. It’s all interlinked. You can’t separate them, so you’ve got to pick a point in that cycle to break. And that could be content, representation, image, the media, or marketing. That’s the point that Gearing Up intersects with it. But getting women into the workforce is another point of access, and it’s important to get women in and to look after them while they’re in.” It’s not all negative, though. There are an increasing number
of women working within the cycling industry, and more being offered jobs in leadership positions. But in order to really tap into the market, we need more women making decisions in brands and businesses. And many are aware of this. But it can be daunting to know what to say, or worry about doing something wrong, as Spotswood explains. “When I speak to men, they’re worried about doing it
wrong, about being tokenistic. They’re worried about being inauthentic, about saying the wrong thing. There’s a lack of understanding. And I can see that, and I really, really get it. And I think what we want to get across with Gearing Up and the
www.bikebiz.com
PHOTO BY ANDY LLOYD Fiona riding with Immie at Shredders
campaign that is being put together is that intentionality goes a long way. Intentionality and insight. “So open yourself up to doing things differently, to thinking about this in a different way, to learning about women’s experiences and accepting that you don’t have the visibility of this, you don’t have the vision, and you can’t, and that’s fine. But you can learn about it.” The fact is, we all have different experiences, just like I, as a white woman, haven’t had the same experience as a black woman. I’m privileged in my own way, and I can’t pretend to understand someone else’s experience – but I can learn and understand. Spotswood says it’s not about having the answers right away and recognises the difficulties brands are facing in this climate. Uncertainty around tariffs, global economic volatility and the like. “You can’t click your fingers and suddenly change your
workforce from 10 blokes to five women and five men. What are you going to do? Sack five blokes? You know? It’s really difficult. “But it’s thinking about that intentionality, recognising that
you’ve got these challenges and issues, and that longer-term strategies to change are possible.” The idea behind attracting more women and minorities to
the cycling industry isn’t to oust all white men. We need men, and we need enthusiasts of any gender. But we also need to open ourselves up to other ways of thinking and getting different voices in decision-making positions, if the cycling industry is to think about longevity.
April 2026 | 13
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