Two women--with a passion for bicycles, strengths in party planning and group facilitation, and lots of experience volunteering for nonprofit bike orgs--had an idea of uniting women locally on bike issues. They completed a grant application proposing $500 to organize two bike rides and a summit and begun work when they were awarded the funds.
Daniella Alcedo and Maria Sipin put all their ideas in Google Docs, exchanged plenty of e-mails among themselves and community partners, increased the use of their personal social media accounts to promote their cause, and leveraged expertise from their supporting organizations. Asking for freebies was also a key component of WBWL's success.
Southern California is notoriously known by most as a car-centric region with its communities divided by sprawling freeways and congested streets. The automobile has contributed to negative environmental impacts and poor health outcomes to Southern California leaving many with the perception that Los Angeles is gas-guzzling, smog ridden city. Yet many have witnessed the growth of bicycles as a means for transportation, recreation and culture and creating an essential part of equity in communities-- from social, economic, health and beyond. Among the many bicyclists in Southern California, it has been noticed that women are becoming more visible and engaged as participants, ambassadors, leaders, and everyday users of bicycles yet there is still a lot of work to be done to broaden participation in bicycle advocacy and to reach people who represent gender, socioeconomic, and ethnic minorities.
To strengthen women’s role in the bicycling advocacy community, a partnership between the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) and Multicultural Communities for Mobility (MCM) was formed to create Women Bike, Women Lead a three-part women-led series consisting of two bike rides and a summit from January to April 2015. This series was created by with a mini-grant provided by the League of American Bicyclists Women Bike Initiative to empower and support women, especially those who are new to local bicycle advocacy, by providing them a space to meet other leaders, to discuss the needs of their communities, and to identify resources and collaborators relevant to their work.
The two bike rides and summit were designed to encourage women to build upon their networks and to strengthen their capacity for transforming their communities through active transportation, namely biking. The one-day summit with presenters, activities, and discussions were dedicated to supporting women who were interested in expanding personal and professional goals related to active transportation.