THE BIG INTERVIEW
a recent trip to Vietnam, she said: “I think I definitely can bring some change to the industry, because this industry is dominated by men. And as you know, I have been a very strong personality. So anything I think that’s unfair or not right, then definitely I want to change it. I wouldn’t say I’m very powerful. Simply things need to be changed to adjust to the modern age.” Tu was one of the original founders of Giant and has sat on the board since then, but she has also held a number of roles with the company, including as chief financial officer. But it was in 2007, after agreeing to take on a monster 900km ride with former Giant chairman King Lui, and struggling to find comfortable kit to ride in, that Tu became inspired to build a women’s specific division of Giant – and in 2008, Liv Cycling was born. On the philosophy that underpins the Liv brand, Tu said: “When the bike industry started everything was designed for men, so of course women did not feel that comfortable and they cannot perform that well. We thought it was high time for us to change that, so we started to design bikes for women. And as you can see now I think more women, especially in Taiwan, are starting to ride bicycles.”
Women’s-specific The idea of women’s specific bikes can still divide the
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industry, as many brands are now shifting towards unisex bike-building, but with a wider range of sizes. Tu, on the contrary, believes there is still a place for
women’s specific geometry: “Many of my competitors say women don’t need a women’s specific bikes, they say they can perform as well on the men’s bike just with some adjustments – change the saddle, change the handlebar and that’s all. That was because before women had Liv, they were so used to the men’s bike, they trained themselves to fit on the men’s bike. “But if you take a woman not familiar with the men’s bike and ask her, she certainly will tell you that she feels much more comfortable on a Liv bike… or a women’s specific bike (let’s take the Liv brand name away and just talk about women’s specific bikes). She definitely will feel much more comfortable. So why do women need to compromise?” The Giant Bicycle Group has made major waves in women’s
cycling thanks to Liv, but the Taiwan-based bike-builder also lifts women up at a corporate level. Within Giant UK, women represent 40% of the office team and 44% of the senior management. Tu added: “I think people should look at Giant. We have
senior positions held by women. I still remember years ago a colleague in the UK made a joke about females working in the industry. But I think the latest gender equality movements, such as Me Too, have made women more confident that you can work in any industry, not just bicycles. But I always told
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