For this week’s blog we have guest writer Aneela McKenna. She has two decades of experience in equality, diversity and inclusion. She founded Mòr Diversity in 2018 to train workplaces in the private, public and third sectors on diversity in the workplace. Her contribution to the 2023 UCI Cycling World championships as their Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Adviser to ensure this was an event for
everyone.
The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships was pivotal in Scotland’s sporting history. The
biggest cycling event ever. Bringing together 13 championships, firmly placing our country on the international stage. It was a unique opportunity to tell a story about Scotland and it’s
people, inspiring those communities in attendance. The Championships welcomed over 7,000 elite and amateur cyclists, including para-athletes, from 131 nations and more than 220 world champions were crowned, with thousands of spectators watching in awe.
The objective was to host a world-class event, driven with the purpose of reaching out to new
audiences and inspiring more people to cycle using the ‘power of the bike’ as a catalyst for
change. In delivering these priority areas, Women and Girls were identified as a key target
group under its three key pillars: to Attract, Engage, and Inspire.
Research shows that Women and Girls face barriers to cycling caused by poverty, social and
cultural norms, poor infrastructure and health inequalities. The hope was to provide a unique opportunity to create innovative and accessible opportunities that will engage women and girls, and other underrepresented groups to get active in cycling.
The recently published EDI Impact Evaluation Report highlights some of the key successes of
the event, and its outcomes and impacts:
● A Pledge from the Partners
The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, alongside partners and key stakeholders, signed
up to an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Pledge to show a tangible commitment to
creating an inclusive, diverse, and accessible world-class event in Glasgow and across
Scotland. One of its five key commitments was:
‘to commit to the growth and sustainability of Women and Girls cycling in Scotland.’
This provided a framework for action for all partners to be proactive around Women and Girls.
● Celebrating Role Models
It is well-researched that female role models are vital to encouraging more girls to play sport
and take part in physical activity.
The Women’s Elite Road race was the first time a World Championship has ever had a women’s
race as the grand finale. This was a pinnacle moment in cycling with over 40 per cent of spectators
being women. It was incredible to see so many girls lined up along the streets of Glasgow
watching the spectacle displaying women’s cycling at its best.
Beyond the spectators, 90 per cent of all paid media targeted non-core cyclists with a key focus on
Women & Girls to increase the visibility of female role models across the sport.
An important part of the legacy has been to set a template for future major events on
accessibility and inclusion. The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships produced ‘Planning for
Inclusion’ Guidelines for each of the Event Delivery Partners to work through as part of the build
planning. Part of this was to introduce period products across all venues to help remove the
stigma. This was also the first major event in Scotland to have done this.
During the championships, community activations to promote cycling took place nationwide. In total, £1.5m was awarded through the Cycling Communities Fund to help support and deliver community cycling projects and events. The fund was delivered in partnership between Sportscotland, Event Scotland and the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.
These funded projects had a key indicator focus on targeted groups encouraging women and
girls’ participation. As part of the funding criteria, organisations had to reach out to new audiences and build inclusive activities into the core delivery. Here are two examples of how the funding was used to inspire more Women and Girls to cycle in Glasgow and West Lothian.
Overall, the 2023 UCI Cycling Championships should be celebrated for their work to drive
awareness and highlight the importance of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion through the vehicle
of a major event. However, there is so much more that can be done. Events like this can be
more than just about elite sports; they can inspire change. Embedding the interests of local
communities and individuals, and widening access for underrepresented groups must be an
integral measure of any core event’s success. It’s now up to event organisers to further
inclusion and build on that momentum from 2023.
All photos supplied by the 2023 Cycling World Championships.
If you’d like more information on the work being done by Mòr Diversity & Cycling World Championships to improve inclusion, impact, and audiences then you can find the Impact Evaluation report here.
