Key findings

• Women are under-represented in media and marketing imagery. There is also underrepresentation of women from different ethnic backgrounds and ages. Women feel excluded from the mediated culture of the sport due to this underrepresentation.

• There is an overly narrow representation of mountain biking in media and marketing, dominated by a masculine, risky, high-octane style of engagement. This alienates women seeking to form identities as ‘mountain bikers’, and further exacerbates imposter syndrome.

• Women seek out and curate social media influencers who better represent their connection with mountain biking. Some contribute to social media with their own stories in an active effort to rebalance the mediated culture of mountain biking and foster inclusivity.

• Women in mountain biking feel excluded from the marketplace, which limits their involvement and engagement with the mainstream culture, which is a consumer culture. They struggle to justify spending money on products and services, they are disinterested in the way product and service offerings are currently promoted, and their engagement with the marketplace is often brokered by male partners and friends when they do need to engage.

• Women mountain bikers recognise the delicate balance the industry faces in promoting women-only products and services. These can mean women feel marginalised from the mainstream sport if the culture of mountain biking continues to feel male-dominated and predominantly serving a masculine target segment.

• ‘Transformative marketing’ that seeks to empower women and address inequality can feel inauthentic and ‘really targeting men’ because women’s experiences and stories of mountain biking are not seen as authentically represented. Authentic transformative brand marketing can foster strong relationships between brands and women consumers, when women’s stories of mountain biking are told in their own terms, when brand marketing supports women’s participation in authentic ways through events and sponsorship, and when inspiring women’s stories of adventure are shared in a way that appeals to women.

• Women mountain bikers face unique experiences of exclusion because they are socialised into a male-dominated and masculine culture, in which their own experiences and ways of engaging can feel invalidated. Women’s engagement with the sport is often brokered by men. This creates pressure and exacerbates feelings of imposter syndrome, fear and anxiety. For example, women’s recruitment journeys are often facilitated by men, and their experiences riding in mixed or male-dominated groups can include unpleasant comparisons of competence and bravery. Women’s anxieties and fears associated with skill and risk can be heightened through non-supportive participation experiences.

• Women who ride together in groups experience, and help foster, a nurturing, supportive environment, in which women develop friendships, confidence and skills. They can learn at their own speed, enjoying the process of challenge and achievement without feeling unpleasant pressure. Women actively seek other women to ride with, helping forge their connection and retention. Women riding in women-only groups report progressing rapidly and can also open up pathways between different aspects of the sport, e.g. from riding to racing.

• Women are more easily recruited into the sport when groups of women riding together are highly visible. The visibility of women-only groups is often related to online communities and social media promotion, and these are commonly fostered and promoted through the energy and commitment of a single dedicated champion. The promotion and social media visibility of women in mountain biking helps normalise women’s participation, present opportunities for involvement, retention and the recruitment of new participants. However, informal groups and online communities can be fragile.

Implications for policy

• Opportunities for women to ride regularly together should be supported through dedicated funding, distributed through organisations such as Sport England and British Cycling. Grant funding should be available to public sector organisations, industry bodies and individual enterprises to support and subsidise women-only mountain biking groups, events and festivals. Grant funding should specifically ensure women from under-represented groups such as lower socio-economic areas are supported to take part.

• Policymakers should fund training for organisations seeking to include women and under-represented groups in mountain biking events, groups and festivals. Training might include outreach, social marketing, community cohesion and community sports development.

• Policymakers should support public sector efforts to raise the visibility of women in mountain biking, and underrepresented groups of women in mountain biking. This can be done by providing funding for the development of online and offline groups of women to ride together, supported by a promotional infrastructure that raises the visibility of women in mountain biking.