THE International Cycling Union (UCI) has secured the first level of professional gender-equality certification as part of its strategy to introduce a related equality policy internally and to develop women’s cycling.
The sport’s governing body underwent an independent audit through FloCert to certify it against the internationally renowned EDGE Certification standards in September and was awarded the Level One Assess award on October 23.
“As the first woman director general of the UCI, I am very proud that our federation has obtained EDGE certification,” Director General Amina Lanaya said. “We are committed to an ambitious project to make the UCI an exemplary international sports body in terms of internal governance. In this context, the theme of gender equality is a priority, and we will continue to be committed to this goal in order to put in place, by 2021, a policy ensuring the well-being, equality and promotion of all our employees.”
EDGE Certification is a globally recognized tool used to help close the gender gap inside organizations and companies. Its certification in professional gender equality offers three levels: Assess, Move and Lead. According to its web site, the certifications levels are based on an independent audit review, which looks at objective and measurable evidence of a current status within an organization; its established global standard of excellence; and its ability to create change based on transparency, accountability and recurring processes.
The UCI chose the third-party FloCert among the certification organizations suggested by EDGE. It was assessed in three areas: statistical data that included gender, age, origins, work flexibility, along with regulations and then a questionnaire sent to employees. The certification process measures the organization’s gender balance, insignificant unexplained gender pay gap showing equal pay for equivalent work, policies and practices that show equitable career flow for both men and women, and an inclusive culture.
The UCI is currently the only sports international federation with the EDGE Certification Assess award. However, it’s only able to stay at Level One for six years before it must progress to Level Two: Move, or lose its status entirely. The UCI has stated that it aims to move up to the next level within two years, and has already begun that process.
To achieve the Move award, the UCI will implement an internal policy at the organization that encompasses work flexibility, equal pay for men and women, prevention of all forms of harassment in the workplace, and promotion of diversity and integration.
“This certification is the latest in a suite of measures to ensure gender parity in our sport,” UCI President David Lappartient said. “This is true at the level of our athletes, particularly with the introduction of a minimum wage from this season in women’s professional road cycling and in the better protection of the riders, but also at management level within our governing bodies, where women need to be better represented in management positions.”
THERE’S STILL WORK TO BE DONE
CYCLINGNEWS’S Laura Weislo took an in-depth look at the UCI calendar, rankings and other stats to show what the state of road racing has been over the last decade. The data showed that the total number of UCI race days across all five categories: elite men, elite women, U23 men, and junior men and women, hadn’t changed across 10 years but were redistributed.
The data found that there were almost 1,500 days of UCI racing worldwide in both years but in 2010, the elite men’s races took up 80.3 percent percent of the entire calendar. By 2019, that was down to just under 73.2 percent, but it is still the massive mark above women’s elite racing.
Women’s elite racing was 8.2 percent of the total UCI race days at the start of the decade, and grew to 15 percent by last year.
The data shows that there is still a long way to go to equality within the sport, and much work to be done to close the gaps.
The data found that within its own category, the elite women’s race calendar has became stronger over the course of the decade. It gained one-day races, going from 34 UCI-sanctioned events to 90 over 10 years. Stage races were up from 89 racing days in 2010 to 143 in 2019—a 60.67-percent increase.
Although the data also showed that stage races are getting shorter overall for women, in terms of the number of days. UCI News