Women’s Forum Success!

Looking out at the incredible crowd, it was hard to believe it had only been one year.

On Monday, I recognized many familiar faces at the National Women’s Bicycling Forum. Many folks who had attended the first event at the 2012 National Bike Summit were back to continue the conversation about engaging more women in bicycling. But even in such a short time, the Forum felt entirely different.

Instead of a two-hour panel discussion, this year’s Forum was a signature aspect of the National Bike Summit with nearly 30 diverse speakers; four in-depth break-out sessions; keynote addresses from Georgena Terry, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth and NYC Transportation Commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan.

(From left) Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth and the New York Bike Dancers (Credit Brian Palmer)

At the start of 2013, the League made gender equity a national priority by launching Women Bike — and we’re not alone. A growing number in local advocacy organizations, leaders in the bike industry and transportation planners at all levels are tackling this divide in innovative and effective ways.

Our hope was that the National Women’s Bicycling Forum would inspire and inform those efforts — and, well, I think we hit the mark.

The keynote addresses were absolutely phenomenal; the break-out sessions were fresh and informative; and the photo booth and Women Bike Pop-up Shop added a new dynamic to the already high-energy event. We’ll be posting more in coming days but, in the meantime, watch recordings of all three keynotes below!

..