SRAM shoots for gender parity in sport and employment

SRAM has announced that it will join a wider effort to promote gender parity across riding, racing, advocacy and its own employment.

For 2020, the component maker has made four commitments to support these efforts; community, work, youth and athletes.

“SRAM believes that achieving gender parity in cycling is imperative for the long-term success of the industry as a whole,” says Sara Jarrell, Marketing Coordinator of Women’s Programs at SRAM, “and our commitments will be sustained well beyond International Women’s Day on March 8th.”

Marked by the #EachForEqual hashtag on social media, SRAM’s pledge to join the movement to offer equal opportunity starts with community, for which the firm has its long-term commitment to the SRAM Women’s Program, now in its fourth year of operation.

This program has helped create more female cyclists, building in ambassador support, education clinics and has embraced peripheral communities at events the firm has attended.

SRAM has a full-time team member dedicated to this program, who serves beginner to advanced cyclists in both road and mountain disciplines. The SRAM Women’s Program has grown its reach to participants through events by 45% year over year and aims to continue this growth trajectory through 2020 and beyond.

The business itself also has the Women’s Leadership Committee, a group founded to attract more women to the firm’s workplace.

The SWLC is responsible for creating global mentorship opportunities for all SRAM team members, including addressing the challenge of creating a more inclusive and diverse workforce. SRAM’s global workforce today is 41% female. The U.S. team has grown the number of women by 11.5% in the past three years.

At youth level, support continues and is to be increased for the National Interscholastic Cycling Association through to 2023, SRAM has announced.

Finally, the components giant will actively be involved in helping NICA reach its goal of 33% female rider participation through collaborations with the Girls Ride Together Program (aka GRiT).