Yesterday, I used the story of Tara Gins to illustrate the unequal treatment of women in competitive cycling, and sports generally.
Today, I have better news on that front. The Trek-Segafredo team is now offering equal pay to its male and female riders. "Salary really depends on the individual, but we can confirm that all of our professional road cycling athletes --regardless of gender--make at or above the minimum for the men's program," according to Eric Bjorling, the director of brand marketing at Trek Bikes.
The policy, he said, went into effect on the first day of this year. It puts Trek-Segafredo ahead of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the sport's world governing body. While the UCI mandated maternity leave and health insurance for female riders last year, its minimum salary--20,000 Euros--is half of the 40,045 guaranteed to men. Even after annual increases that would raise the minimum women's salary to 30,000 in 2023, female riders would still make only three-quarters of their male counterparts--assuming, of course, the men don't get a raise.
 |
| Lizzie Deignan |
Trek-Segafredo's move is important because it's one of the better-known and more successful teams in the peloton. Its female roster includes Lizzie Deignan, who won La Course--the women's version of the Tour de France--last year.
Trek-Segafredo is moving to la tete de la course in gender equality. Will the UCI ride abreast, draft T-S or become the lanterne rouge
