In reality we have this backlash! Look at politics, look at actual gender stereotypes, book bans …
All we thought we’d overcome in the 70/80th is a threat for modern women. So I think we have to empower ourselves (sure with help of allies) more and more, have to be visible in Sports – and I like the women’s community on Zwift.

Personally I find that the language of the website at best misses the mark. I understand the positive intentions, but this really, really irked me and yes, made me feel like we just lost 30 years of progress:

“In short, women can slough off the limitations of in-real-life racing to push themselves like they don’t have any other responsibilities. To race like men already do, like they have no other responsibilities.”

Rather than reinforcing an out-of-date status quo under the guise of empowerment, let’s have real conversation around gender parity in parenting responsibilities and gender equality in cycling. When I first read it, I thought this was a parody or a joke.

Zwift, you’re a leader in the industry for championing women’s equality in the sport. Please do better. (And have your marketing collateral written by an actual woman)

I liked the article! I thought it was great 🙂

Hi @Annie Poland and Angie – I think maybe you aren’t reading in the sarcasm I intended. The numbers of women racing IRL after having children drops significantly – I wish it wasn’t this way, but it is. Whether or not you’re putting your children to bed, many women feel they don’t have time to “themselves” until after the kids are in bed. And my comment about racing like men was certainly not to compliment men’s/mixed racers, but to point out that the numbers of men racing IRL and on virtual platforms does not experience the same precipitous decrease – men continue to race whether the laundry is done, the dishes are done, the kids are asleep.

To be clear, I don’t hold myself out as a writer, and didn’t intend to. I wanted to point out that women may feel hesitant to race because they don’t feel they have time with the other commitments in their lives, as caretakers or otherwise, and to give those women small ways to mitigate what they see as limitations and to boost their confidence. If you’d like to discuss social change, I’d be happy to in a different forum, but this forum is intended to build women up by giving them specific tools to bolster confidence and reinforce that which we may have in common.

The wording of the intro reinforces gender stereotypes that I think need to be challenged. If the goal is to get a critical mass of women racers so that there can be a calendar full of women’s events that accommodate all abilities and time zones, I think there’s an opportunity to talk about what I see as a hurdle to getting there – social issues impeding women.

When we look at the skew of male to female racers, it’s very indicative that something much more fundamental is going on. Because the convenience of Zwift is nothing new – the opportunity to get on Zwift as it fits your schedule is true for anyone – male or female. If the convenience factor is universal, then why aren’t there more women on Zwift?

I 100% agree with you that the friendships, camaraderie, and support we get from being on a Zwift team are very important! I want to have a website to connect women so more of us can have the privilege of sharing our experiences with other women. It’s just that the way it was presented felt kind of condescending, like we’re trying to chase some gold standard that men set…

I think the creators of this website are doing a great thing. But if the goal is more women-only events, I think a more wholistic approach is needed, besides recruiting the women already on Zwift into racing. Yes, a website is absolutely a great place to discuss what else I believe needs to be done, and I’m glad we have the opportunity to do so, and that you’re asking questions. 

I definitely don’t think this website will “fix” social issues. But I do think journalism is a powerful tool, and I saw an opportunity to acknowledge the disparity between men and women on Zwift, because I think it’s a hurdle to achieving what this website is after. Bringing light to the ‘why’ of the gender imbalance on Zwift is a way to make a small difference in our little corner of the internet. Before we go championing that women can ‘race like men,’ without responsibilities or limitations, let’s ask ourselves if the numbers indicate that’s actually the case.

I appreciate you asking my ideas on changes that we can make. I’d be happy to hear your (or anyone else’s) ideas as well. Or follow up on any of my own ideas.

-Give this women’s page more visibility: Put it on the homepage of Zwift Insider, rather than under ‘Getting Started.’
-Change Zwift’s category enforcement system: Make mixed racing more equitable to women. I think for the time being, mixed racing is going to be the stepping stone before we get enough all-women’s races to have a choice. For me personally, Zwift’s category enforcement has BY FAR been the biggest thing stopping me from doing mixed races. I’ve spent the past 4+ years of Zwift racing flip-flopping between a mixed A and B cat racer, and when I’m forced to race A, I get blown off the back (sometimes within the first minute of the race). I can’t emphasize enough how much better the experience of racing as a B has been. I could care less about what place I get, I just want to be IN the race. I’ve also had very good race experiences in events that use alternate ranking systems (like FRR which uses Velo ranking, or WTRL’s Autocat system) because I felt like I was always placed in an appropriate race group. Kudos to those event organizers for seeing a need to use a category system besides Zwift’s, so let’s get more of that.
-Create inclusive environments in group rides: encourage ride leaders to engage with women in their group rides. For instance, if your ride has a segment effort, mini-race, or after party, make a point to commend the efforts by women.
-Raise awareness to all the men on Zwift: let’s collaborate and talk about what men can do. Ask yourselves, do you have a partner you could help get on Zwift? If she already Zwifts, is there a way you could elevate her experience? If you are a father, can you use the implications of the under-representation of women on Zwift to guide the ideals or notions with which you empower your daughter, or responsibilities you teach to your son?

The intro text on this page was actually written by a woman (Beccah Niesen, who headed up this project). I just put the overall page together, hence me showing as the author (so I can understand the confusion).

To answer your other question: yes, we’ve had women contributors to the site.

Why is that women are expected to put the women to bed though?

Also, why do we have to “race like men”?

I have such mixed feelings about this whole post. While I appreciate a place for women to actually see women do race, I’m so disappointed that I, as the woman, am expected to put my three kids to bed, and my husband can’t do that same thing? I already grew these things from head to toe, can I get a break from these expectations please??

I agree with Annie whole heartedly. This is sooooooo poorly worded but with good intentions. As a mom, I’m just disappointed. Can this be written by a woman’s perspective please? You know what, does he have any women who write ANYTHING come to think of it?