Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
For a number of years now, Sky have teamed up with British Cycling to promote themselves cycling to a wider audience. Before the TdF sponsorship, there's a whole raft of money been spent trying to get more people onto two (or three) wheels. And that's a good thing.
However, there's a distinctly male/female split in the way they've gone about it. As they're fully aware, there's a much smaller proportion of female participation in cycling, so they've put dedicated resources to try and encourage more women to try cycling.
If a woman signs up to run the female only rides under the Breeze Banner, that person expected to plan the route, publicise it and lead it, all entirely as a volunteer. And you have to run at least 12 per year. More info here.
However, if a man or woman wants to run a normal Sky Ride, open to all, you get paid for it! You only have to commit to running at least 4 a year, plus possibly some other events. And according to a Sky Ride Leader I was chatting to the other week, he doesn't have to plan or publicise the ride at all - he's sent details of rides occurring near him in the next few months, and asked if he wants to lead them. More info here.
It would however seem very sexist to expect women volunteers to do all that extra work, whilst a bloke gets paid to do far less. But then again, why am I not surprised at such a tactic from an organisation like Sky?
However, there's a distinctly male/female split in the way they've gone about it. As they're fully aware, there's a much smaller proportion of female participation in cycling, so they've put dedicated resources to try and encourage more women to try cycling.
If a woman signs up to run the female only rides under the Breeze Banner, that person expected to plan the route, publicise it and lead it, all entirely as a volunteer. And you have to run at least 12 per year. More info here.
However, if a man or woman wants to run a normal Sky Ride, open to all, you get paid for it! You only have to commit to running at least 4 a year, plus possibly some other events. And according to a Sky Ride Leader I was chatting to the other week, he doesn't have to plan or publicise the ride at all - he's sent details of rides occurring near him in the next few months, and asked if he wants to lead them. More info here.
It would however seem very sexist to expect women volunteers to do all that extra work, whilst a bloke gets paid to do far less. But then again, why am I not surprised at such a tactic from an organisation like Sky?
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