Cycling UK grows female membership, who now make up a quarter

A quarter of Cycling UK's membership is now made up of women, the national cycling charity has revealed.

The organisation, which campaigns for active travel across the UK, as well as offering its members various benefits including insurance, is growing its current membership of 70,000. More than a third of joiners in the last year have been women; the news of growth comes while other membership organisations have struggled.

According to Cycling UK, more than 800,000 people have discovered or rediscovered cycling through its work across the UK, which has included helping refugees cycle in North Yorkshire, and encouraging toddlers to use balance bikes in Glasgow.

"Anyone who joins us can be certain they’re contributing to our higher purpose as a charity, which is to transform people’s lives through cycling," Katie Hammond, the charity's commercial director, said. "In turn this allows us to overcome many of the most serious challenges facing our society, be that environmental, health or economic.

“Between 2022 and 2025, the number of women members of Cycling UK rose from 22 per cent to 25 per cent. This has largely been down to our charity’s campaigning and programme work.

"By working to overcome the barriers women face when considering whether to cycle, new women joining us hit a high of one third over the past year. We’re now focusing on attracting even more women to cycling through new campaigns and even more impactful work with communities."

"The barriers people most frequently mention are not having access to a bike, a lack of confidence to ride, and social isolation," Hammond continued. "Thankfully, all of these barriers can be overcome with the right support. That’s our role at Cycling UK."

Cycling UK has set up Community Cycle Hubs to work with those less likely to cycle, meaning women, minorities, and people with health reasons stopping them from starting. 51% of the people benefitting from these initiatives have been women, with 52% coming from more deprived areas, and 42% from diverse ethnic backgrounds in the past four years.

"7,500 individuals from underserved communities have joined our clubs across England since 2020, and they provide a welcoming, safe space with access to skills and equipment," Hammond said